Duality
by Agent Moonlight
Summary: Yato went there to find his phone, crashed into a Yukine from an alternate reality, and now needs to get this lost kid back home. Simple enough, right? However, this becomes a problem when he realizes the kid has a lot of scars, and the more Yato learns about this Yukine's past, the closer he gets to a terrible conclusion.
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks for choosing to read this story, I know it probably sounds a bit unusual, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

* * *

Yato strolled up to the house, estimated the distance, and tossed the final pebble at the window. A sharp clank reverberated in the air after the smooth stone hit the window pane. The sound faded and he waited a few beats. Yet the silence carried on as it had with each previous attempt.

He sighed and turned to a scowling Yukine. "I guess she's asleep."

His regalia seemed less than impressed with his assessment, giving him an "Are you stupid?" look that was quickly morphing into an "Oh, yeah, I already knew you were."

Odd how most of his shinki had given him that look before -Tomone still did. Then again, he had sort of dragged the kid out of bed, ignored his protests, teleported him here in the middle of the night without warning and... Okay, now he understood why Yukine was glaring at him, but this was important.

"This is ridiculous," Yukine seemed to read his thought prior to disagreeing with it while Yato adjusted a ladder under the window -he was borrowing it from a neighboring household. "And an invasion of Hiyori's privacy."

"No, it's not!" Yato swiveled around to face his regalia and wagged his finger in his kid's face until he noticed Yukine was growling so he quickly retracted it before it could be bitten off -his kid was as cute as he was vicious. "Hiyori invited us over today, and it's not midnight yet, so the invitation still counts." He took a step onto the ladder, and when it held his weight, figured it would hold Yukine's weight too. If it were just himself out here he would have climbed the tree and crawled through Hiyori's window like he normally did but Yukine wasn't very agile and maybe he wasn't the best master, but he wouldn't risk his kid's safety so carelessly.

"First of all," He couldn't see Yukine as he began climbing but figured the shinki was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Hiyori invited us earlier and we were here _earlier_ , so the invitation was already used. Second of all, it's nearly one in the morning!"

Yato paused, blinking because he genuinely didn't know it was that late, but soon shrugged it off before resuming his ascension. "Well, I would know it was that late if my phone wasn't missing. Don't worry, Yukine, I'm sure I left it in here so we just gotta zip in, find it, and we'll be out before you know it."

He heard his regalia grumble something about why this couldn't wait till morning and why did he have to come, bakagami. He didn't turn back as he climbed another step, but he did grin to himself because he just had the most brilliant idea that was sure to cheer up his sleepy hafuri.

Teasing time!

"Aww, you're just cranky 'cause I woke you up from your nap," he glanced down and caught sight of Yukine's stunned yet blushing face, which he couldn't help but cackle over because his kid was adorable.

And vengeful because suddenly the ladder was tipping to the side and he was tumbling down, releasing a high-pitched shriek as he caught sight of the cruel smirk on Yukine's face before he took in a mouthful of dirt. He groaned as he lifted himself up onto all fours and saw Yukine standing over him.

"I was sleeping! Naps are for little kids." Yukine crossed his arms while he moaned and stood on aching joints, rubbing his chin that was surprisingly not bleeding despite how it felt like he had taken an incoming train to the face.

"Yukine, why are you such a meanie?!" He sniffled a bit because that had hurt, but Yukine simply moved away to reset the ladder against the window.

"Let's just get this over with." Yukine began climbing and he scrambled to follow suit because his kid could fall. "I don't want to hear any more of your crying over that phone, it makes you sound like some teenage girl." The regalia paused in the middle of the ladder. "Actually, I'd rather not insult Hiyori, you were more like a five year old throwing a tantrum."

"That's no way to talk to your master!" He bellowed from below, reaching to grasp Yukine's shoe, which turned out to be a mistake when he received several kicks to the face and a spiteful look thrown down from the severely sleep-deprived teenager. He almost fell back but caught the rung at the last second.

"Maybe I wouldn't if you didn't bother me with stupid things at one in the morning!" Yukine hurriedly slipped in through Hiyori's window -guess he was more agile than he thought- before Yato could respond.

"Hey!" He hurried in after his shinki but when he landed, the ground was uneven -maybe a pen left on the floor- and thus he tumbled over into a wall. Now his bruises had bruises.

"Be quiet, Tracksuit!" Yukine whisper-shouted and he swung his head up -was the room shaking or was he just dizzy?- to see Yukine was gesturing to the familiar figure under the bed covers. The pain evaporated instantly, and he sprung to his feet to observe Hiyori's peaceful and lax expression. The lamp by her bed was on and an open textbook was strewn over her chest with her hand resting upon its spine. He had the urge to take that slim, unblemished hand into his own because it looked so soft and ethereal in the hallo of the warm light.

"Stop being creepy!"

He only just realized he was leaning over Hiyori close enough to catch a whiff of strawberry shampoo before he was forcibly yanked away by his collar. He was released, but the momentum caused him to stumble into the door, which wasn't fully closed and thus led to him rolling into the hallway.

"Stay out there where you can't cause trouble, I'll look for the phone in Hiyori's room since you can't control yourself." The regalia gave him one last death-glare before turning away.

He wanted to remind Yukine that he hadn't been the one trying to feel Hiyori up a mere year ago, but his mouth was glued to the floor and the blossoming bruises on his body begged him to stay down and give himself a break. He obeyed for a brief moment, face becoming one with the floor, and then reluctantly lifted himself up. His back protested the movement and he grasped it before rubbing the muscles to ease his pain. Geez, his kid could be brutal. Note to self, never interrupt Yukine's nap time.

He pushed himself onto all fours and a small object glinted in his peripheral vision. He blinked and raised his head higher.

His cellphone -his precious baby!- rested against the hallway wall and he didn't hesitate to scoop it into his arms and rub his face against it because he had been so worried he would never see it again- Alright, even he could tell he was being over-dramatic, but his kid wasn't the only one running on too little sleep so maybe he wasn't thinking straight.

"Yukine, I fouuund it!" He lifted the cellphone up in triumph as his shinki appeared in the doorway.

"Great," his regalia's tone was half-sarcastic, half-relieved. "Now could you please teleport us home?"

Yato opened his mouth to deliver a clever quip about how he had told him it would be easy to find, however, he spotted what seemed to be a piece of red glitter flickering in the air between them. He thought he was imagining it, yet Yukine was staring at the same spot. Their equally puzzled eyes met.

A vent exploded between them, tossing them each back a foot while a red vortex lit up the hallway and fierce winds muffled their shocked cries. He turned away and raised his arms to protect his eyesight as he bent his knees to brace himself.

"Yato!"

He snapped his eyes wide open because his kid sounded scared -was he okay?!- yet soon realized Yukine wasn't fearing for himself when a body collided with his. He crashed onto his back and the air whooshed out of him as an elbow stabbed his stomach and the weight of a human being anchored him to the floor. He blinked rapidly, wondering how many injuries one god could get in a single night while struggling to recapture his breath, a task which became a lot easier when the elbow was lifted away. His vision cleared and his blue met familiar orange eyes.

"Yukine?" He observed his kid's terrified and stunned appearance as the regalia held himself a few inches above him with his arms to the side of Yato's torso. He had rarely ever seen such terror in those eyes and now worried that the vent had hurt his kid he tried to reach out to him with one arm.

"Y-Yato?"

He froze because that was Yukine's voice but it had come from a distance and the boy above him had not opened his mouth. His heartbeat quickened as he cautiously peered around the boy above him and caught sight of Yukine standing a few feet away from him.

He snapped his gaze back to the boy above him and suddenly noticed that this kid was wearing a sky blue scarf, which trailed down onto Yato's chest as he hovered above him. "Who?"

The boy flung himself up and was on his feet before Yato had risen to a sitting position. He had no idea what was going on, wondered if that fall from the ladder had really messed up his head, because there was a Yukine on his left and a Yukine on his right. Their clothes, bedhead hair, even their frightened expressions matched in perfect imitation of each other.

Though his kid was doing a great job at hiding his unease, despite the terror he sensed from him, while this kid was breathing in heaving gasps and his skin was turning into an ashen gray color while his eyes darted from him to Yukine. He took a step back the second Yato shifted into a stand and his orange eyes bored into Yato's like the god was the embodiment of the kid's nightmares. This in itself made Yato feel queasy because that was still Yukine's face staring at him like he was a monster and it hurt despite how his mind told him this boy wasn't actually Yukine.

"Who are you?" His hafuri demanded, hand in position to form a borderline and Yato was proud that his kid sounded so calm when he could sense terror and confusion swirling inside him.

The boy eyed Yukine with the wide-eyed look of a doe caught in the headlights of a speeding car. He took another short step back.

And fell down the staircase Yato hadn't thought to warn him about until he was falling. He lurched forward because he didn't know who or what this kid was but he looked so much like Yukine and he couldn't stand Yukine -really any kid- being hurt.

Yato heard the sharp cry of pain and final thump before he saw the the boy crumpled near the platform in the middle of the staircase. The teen was on his side with one arm grasping the other and his legs tucked in like he had been trying to protect them mid-fall.

"Hey! Are you okay?" He didn't know why he asked because he already noticed one of the boy's arms was bent at an unnatural angle and the kid's teeth were clenched together like he was holding in a particularly violent scream. Oh, just let there be no blood.

He practically leapt down the staircase, yet those orange eyes latched onto his figure and he felt a spike of terror -was that Yukine?- pierce his chest. The boy scrambled back and thumped down the final steps so he was now lying on his back on the platform, and his expression became pinched because his injured arm had been jostled by the movement.

He stopped himself from taking another step, but had already raised an arm in a reaching gesture to the Yukine lookalike. Now the boy was practically hyperventilating as he tossed his good arm up as if to ward off an attack.

"Stay away!" The boy's scream chilled his blood into ice because this kid was terrified of him, in a way that reminded him far too much of the innocent people he saw as a child right before he killed th-

Yukine brushed past him, taking him away from the blood-spattered memory, and he watched in mild awe as his kid crouched near the boy.

His regalia smiled a little too tightly at the boy, but was clearly trying to come off as friendly. "It's okay, we won't hurt you."

Orange met orange for a long moment, and he held his breath because he sensed this was the calm before the storm.

"Your arm doesn't look so good, can I see it?" Yukine's tone was even, though Yato sensed great waves of fear coming from him.

The boy remained silent and continued to stare at Yukine, not bothering to get up, and he had the feeling this boy was thinking very hard behind his fear-filled eyes. Yukine waited patiently for a sign.

Yet the kid didn't relinquish his arm, however, he didn't move away when Yukine gently touched it and carefully drew in the limb to examine it. Yato counted that as a win, since it seemed the kid, whose breathing was not nearly as ragged as it had been a minute ago, was settling down.

"I think it's broken," Yukine released the arm back to its owner. "But I have a friend who could fix it if you would let us take you to him."

The kid tensed the moment "us" left Yukine's mouth and his eyes zipped up so he staring at Yato again. What had he done to evoke such fear? He only just met the kid!

The Yukine lookalike turned away from him, though his shoulders remained tense so it was obvious he was still very aware Yato was merely a few feet away.

Then the kid took a deep breath and tightly nodded at his shinki, causing Yukine's smile to become genuine. "Okay, let me help you up, umm..." his regalia purposefully trailed off as he took the boy's good hand and aided him until he could sit up and lean against the bottom step. The kid picked up on Yukine's hinting but was too busy hissing in pain to answer when his injury was aggravated by his repositioning.

"Um," The kid looked timidly at Yukine, his eyes a soft orange with tears prickling at the edges of them. "My name is Yukime," he turned to Yato and his expression smoothed over into a blank mask. "And I'm from an alternate reality."

* * *

Yato leaned against the wall, arms crossed and head bowed. He had been out here for an hour and was admittedly getting twitchy.

"How is this possible?"

He shifted his head to stare at the katanas along with his tracksuit, which he had placed on the bench beside him. He uncrossed his arms, looked both ways down the hall, and then raised the weapons close to his face.

"I don't know, alternate reality theories aren't exactly my forte."

Yukine paused, seeming to be thinking deep thoughts, and he felt his kid's anxiety and it hurt like fists beating at his chest from the inside yet he didn't blame his regalia. He figured if another version of himself had popped up he would be feeling just as uneasy. Truly, the entire concept that there was more than one reality, multiple versions of not only humans but gods as well, was overwhelming to someone as ancient as himself. Thus he couldn't imagine someone as young as Yukine could process this very easily.

"I mean," he floundered because he wanted to give his kid something to latch on to, some semblance of understanding -his kid was scared and he needed to fix that. "My father mentioned the possibility a few times." His words shocked him probably as much as it shocked Yukine because he had forgotten about that.

It wasn't like his father had brought it up very often or for very long, but he did have a distinct memory of hearing his father consider whether their reality was the only one in existence. It wasn't that far-fetched considering the near shore and far shore were technically like two worlds -two realities- existing in the same place with one reality oblivious to the other. Perhaps the reality the kid -Yukime- was from existed in the same place as their reality, but Yato couldn't see it much like how normal humans couldn't see the far shore.

"Yato?"

He blinked and shook off that train of thought because he had left his kid hanging, and he could sense his regalia's anxiety was rising. "Don't worry," he forced cheer into his tone. "I might not know what's going on, but I think your lookalike- Yukime, I mean, could shed some light on all this."

The regalia paused, humming in thought. "You're right, he seems to already know about alternate realities or he wouldn't have introduced himself that way. Do you think he intentionally came here?"

He shook his head. "No way, he wouldn't have been so freaked out if he had came here willingly." This reminded him of something and his lips curled into a pleased smile. "You did a good job calming him down, Yukine. I know it must have been hard because you were freaking out too, but you handled it well."

As expected, his regalia's heart swelled from the praise and the weight of dread lifted as he basked in the compliment. He grinned because he liked making his kid happy, liked making people happy, though, his kid and Hiyori were always his priority.

The clicking of feet against marble made him flinch and he rushed to hide the katanas back under his tracksuit by holding them in the same hand and ensuring the tracksuit was draped over them. It was an awkward -kinda painful- position for his wrist but knew he had to when Kazuma stopped in front of him.

"How is he?" Yato stuttered out and he hoped Kazuma thought it was concern messing with his tone rather than the nervousness infecting his body.

"Calm down, baka! Kazuma isn't stupid, he'll notice you're hiding something if you keep acting like this!"

He didn't respond to his hafuri's warning, but he pursed his lips to show he had heard him.

Oblivious to their conversation, Kazuma nodded in greeting. "We have finished treating Yukine's arm. It was fortunately not broken, though it was fractured in several places near his shoulder so it has been placed in a sling." The shinki reported with ease, appearance impeccable and emotions in check. He always had marveled at Kazuma's ability to be so proper, even though he was certain he had interrupted his sleep this time. Though it wouldn't surprise him if the blessed regalia had still been awake and working on something he thought would assist his skank of a master.

Wow, he really needed to get Kazuma out more. Maybe once he finished dealing with this alternate reality mess he would convince -kidnap if necessary- him to go out with him to a bar or something.

"-sustain other injuries," Kazuma was still talking so he rushed to grasp what he had missed before his mental lapse became obvious. "But he refused to remove his scarf or shirt so we can't be sure if he's hurt anywhere else."

"That's weird." Yukine commented and he agreed, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

"That coupled with his memory issues makes me think he may have some head trauma, perhaps a concussion, but I can't tell for sure because he was very adamant he was fine."

Yato held up in his hands to ward off anything else Kazuma might add because he needed to make sure Yukime hadn't given himself away. "Wait, what issues? Did he do or say something weird?" Kazuma's gaze sharpened and Yato felt less like a minor god and more like the ant being examined under the microscope. He did his best not to twitch the hand holding his katanas because that would draw undue attention to them and he wasn't ready to explain how he had two Yukines, especially since he actually didn't know the answer to that himself.

"He seemed more withdrawn, wary and quiet, and perhaps I imagined it, but I believe he initially mispronounced my name as Kazumu." The regalia gauged Yato's reaction and he fought not show his mounting worry. "How exactly did he get injured like this? What were you two doing out so late?"

Yato opened his mouth and the words flew out. "Oh, you know, I lost my phone and you know how important it is I have a phone, so we went out to look for it and we, uh, split up to cover more ground,"

The katanas twitched in his hand. "Slow down and calm down! Your palms are so sweaty you're leaving a trail on the floor!"

He hoped Yukine was exaggerating, but decided to take his advice on the chance he wasn't.

"Then an ayakashi ended up chasing him, but it was dark and he accidentally tripped down a staircase. I guess he might have hit his head a little too hard, but I doubt it's anything to worry about." A nervous giggle escaped him but he smothered it before it ran on for too long.

"...Yup, he's on to you."

Yato wanted very badly to stick his tongue out at Yukine because his acting skills were amazing, but he noticed Kazuma was still eyeing him and realized Yukine was right. The shinki was suspicious, rightfully so, but it wasn't his fault he was off his game. It had to be going on three in the morning by now.

Kazuma opened his mouth to no doubt question him until he slipped up so to buy himself some time he slung an arm around the shinki's shoulders and grinned. "Well I need to get my kid home, it's late and he gets really cranky when he misses his nap time." Yukine's retort was rather colorful but he ignored his regalia's rage. "So why don't you take me to him, we head out of here, and you and your healer guy can keep this visit to yourselves, hmm?" He gave Kazuma his brightest and best smile, but the shinki's eyes were flat and his lips a line.

"You do realize Bishamon would know I was lying to her? However, the sooner you leave the better for us all." Kazuma slipped out his hold and started walking down the hall, clearly expecting Yato to follow.

"Exactly, we need to get out of-" He cut himself as he deciphered the double meaning in Kazuma's reply. "Hey, what exactly are you implying?" He sprinted over to the door Kazuma had stopped by. "Who doesn't want my company?"

"There are too many to list." His hafuri broke in and a glower did overcome his face -teens could be such brats- until Kazuma turned to him.

"We gave him the pain medication and its instructions, just make sure he follows them, and if he worsens for some reason, bring him back here after you've given me a proper warning." A flash of irritation crossed his face but was quickly tucked under the regalia's mask of calm.

Yato bobbed his head, worried that saying anything else would give him away, and Kazuma gave him one last meaningful look before muttering a goodnight and wandering away to return to sleep and thus dreamland, which probably included his master and him doing things Yato really didn't want to imagine. Poor shinki was so desperate for affection he had turned to Bishamon out all the goddesses in the land, how tragic.

"Can you revert me now?"

"In a second," Yato entered the room without knocking and shut it behind him, locking it for good measure. "Revert, Yuki."

His kid took form next to him and he spread his arms open wide. "See? I told you we could handle it."

Yukine moved forward and he welcomed what he assumed would be a congratulatory hug until the shinki's hand smacked him upside the head. "Why don't you ever listen to me?! Am I your hafuri or not?!" He grabbed him by his collar and shook him so hard he thought the stitching of his long-sleeve might tear, yet Yato took it without complaint because he was fairly certain he was the one with a concussion at this point so it wasn't like anything his kid did could make it worse.

"Calm down," he managed to get out once the room stopped spinning. "Kazuma might know we're hiding something, but I doubt even he could figure out this one." He jerked his thumb over to Yukime, who had been watching their interaction from his seat on the bed, his right arm in a dark blue sling. His expression had been a mellow one with his head tilted in curiosity but now he met Yato's eyes.

Fear struck and stabbed into Yato's chest and he whipped his head around to face Yukine. "What was that?"

His regalia looked at him, confusion written all over his face. "What are you talking about?"

Yato squinted at him, uncertain now because his kid wasn't that great of an actor. "I'm sensing fear from, wait a minute," he turned away to regard Yukime, who was eyeing him with a guarded expression, which fell apart as unease sprung onto his face once the god was facing him again. Spikes of terror dug into Yato's chest and he grunted from a mixture of surprise and the pain itself.

Okay, he had not seen this coming.

"I'm not sensing Yukine's fear, I'm sensing yours." It came out as more of a question than a statement, yet Yukime looked as startled as he felt.

"Sense?" The other regalia tested the word out on his tongue like it was a foreign term. "You can sense feelings? M-My feelings?" This seemed to disturb Yukime greatly.

"Gods don't do that in your reality, do they?" Yukine interrupted and the Yukime eased the second he took his eyes off the sole god in the room, and he hurriedly nodded to the question. Oh, that explained why Yukine's emotions had felt like they were running amok ever since they met Yukime, he was no longer feeling just his kid's volatile emotions.

"But how is this possible if I'm not your regalia?" Yukime addressed him without looking up from his sling, which he suddenly had great interest in.

"Aren't you?" He began, and seeing twin expressions of confusion, added, "Isn't your master the other version of me? Another Yato?"

"Yes." A dark look shadowed over Yukime's eyes and he bit his lip while his emotions were thrown into such chaos, the god couldn't help but clutch at his chest and groan lowly from the sudden onslaught of negative emotion.

"Yato!" Yukine eyed him in concern, reaching out but only hovering.

"D-Did I do that?" Yukime was wide-eye like the kid caught stealing from the cookie jar, guilt and fear mixing into a toxic concoction within his body. "I didn't know-"

He waved off the incoming apology and straightened because the pain had passed. "You have no idea how this works, no shinki knows right off the bat." He wanted to reassure him, but based on how Yukime was staring at him as he were anticipating a consequence, which was concerning, he failed. In fact, Yukime was hunched over as if bracing for something, which was odd because last time he checked, Yukine was the one punishing him when he messed up the tiniest thing, not the other way around.

At least that was how it went in this reality.

He shook his head, he didn't want to consider what that implied.

"How is this happening? You didn't name him, you named me." Yukine cut in and there was something weighty about the way he spoke as he crossed his arms. Huh, what was up with his kid? His shinki looked a little pouty, which was cute, but worrying too.

Yet he ignored his regalia's strange behavior in favor of dealing with the problem at hand. "His master is Yato, I'm Yato, and we both named our shinki Yuki, so it seems our reality has transferred his bond with his master over to me. Speaking of which, why isn't your master with you?"

Yukime tensed and his arm in a sling drew closer to his chest, and he was reminded that when one was under attack, weak points -like an injury- were often targeted. Did Yukime think they would take advantage of his injury? Attack him?

"Why would he be?" Yukime used a derisive tone, as if he had asked a foolish question.

He narrowed his eyes. "Because you look like you just got out of bed," he gestured from Yukine to Yukime's identical sleepwear. "And I doubt you would be out at this time of night alone, so where is your Yato?"

The silence lingered in the air, tension building into a web that connected a string to each of them until they were all tangled in it. Yukime bit his lip, head bowed, and the silence became stifling.

Yato decided to end their mutual discomfort, but timidly Yukime offered, "I don't know what happened." He was looking up but his gaze was on the door behind Yato rather than himself. He couldn't tell if the kid was assessing if he could get to the door before the minor god stopped him or if he was merely avoiding looking directly at him. Either option was unappealing because it meant Yukime was still wary. Wary of him, the one with his master's face.

"My master got me out of bed, said it was something important,"

Yukine and him stiffened, sharing a look because that sounded a lot like what they had done tonight.

"We met up with Kofuku and she made a vent out of nowhere, and I wasn't expecting it so I ended up falling in. I don't know why my master was meeting with her."

He held in a flinch as he was struck with a blight. Yukime had lied to him, something in that last part was a lie. Had he really fallen in? Or had he gone willingly? Had his master told him what was happening and he was just playing dumb?

Yukine seemed to have similar questions because he took an assertive step towards Yukime. "But why would she open a vent to an alternate reality? And did your master know this would happen?"

Yukime blinked, the uncertainty on his face making him appear younger. "I really don't know, Kofuku makes vents to other realities sometimes, but she only ever goes through them herself. She never sent another person through one, or at least I didn't think she had."

Yukine narrowed his eyes, perhaps picking up on how Yukime was keeping out some details, but Yato grabbed his shoulder. "He's telling the truth, Yukine. He really doesn't know why Kofuku did that." The rest was up for debate.

Yukime was staring at him, he could feel his eyes on his back so he turned to regard the shinki. He was a lot like Yukine in appearance, save the scarf and sling, but he didn't act much like him. This kid was timid, quiet, and polite less so like Yukine who was being kind and more so like he didn't want to risk angering someone by being rude. This kid was in need of help, perhaps more than just the getting home kind, and Yato always had a soft-spot for hurting kids.

"You can come home with us while we try to figure out how this happened." He smiled when twin looks of shock appeared on his shinki -two now- faces.

"But Yato," Yukine gave him an imploring look. "We can't just invite another person to Kofuku's place. That's rude." His kid frowned at him but he just grinned.

"Aw, look at you being all considerate and polite, that's my kid for you!" He ruffled Yukine's hair, ignoring the regalia's attempts to push him off.

"Shut up and use your head for once!" Yukine was blushing despite his condescending tone, and he laughed because his kid was always so easy to rile up.

He turned to Yukime, and his laughter died down because the kid was watching them but he wasn't smiling. He had a wistful look to his eyes, nearly nostalgic, and Yato couldn't help but think Yukime was far too young to have eyes that old.

Yukime's eyes were misty, and going off the tidal wave of sadness and joy assaulting his heart, Yato figured he was on the verge of tears because he recognized Kofuku's place. The reason he was so moved by the sight Yato couldn't decipher, and when he tried to approach him and ask, he was not oblivious to how Yukime shifted so Yukine was between him and Yato. He had a feeling this was going to be a common thing with the newest addition to their residence.

"What are we going to tell Kofuku and Daikoku?" Yukine asked as they hurried up the steps. He thought he heard Yukime mutter "Daikoke?" but didn't bother questioning how it seemed all the shinki from his reality had slightly different names while gods like himself and Kofuku kept the same names.

He shrugged. "The truth. The only reason I didn't tell Kazuma is because he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself and I don't need that blonde bimbo giving me hell for no reason." He entered their room, seeing it was exactly as they had left it with their futons in disarray and Yukine's lamp on.

His kid practically ran over to his futon and dove under the covers and he did feel bad that he had kept his regalia up so late.

Yukime didn't move from the doorway, and he sought to rectify that by gesturing at his futon. "You can take mines, Yukime."

Yukine looked up from fixing his covers. "Where will you sleep?"

He leaned back against the wall and hoped he looked more casual than he felt. "Oh, I'm going to be up doing some research anyway." Of course he wasn't going to mention that he needed to cleanse his blight or stay up wondering how to deal with everything that had happened tonight.

Yukine frowned at him, he hadn't bought it, but Yato hurried on. "You wouldn't mind sharing the lamp with Yukime, right?"

Yukine blinked, taken aback, but him and the god started when Yukime asked, "Why would I want to use the lamp? Light keeps me up when I'm trying to sleep." He said it all in a soft exhale, eyes darting between the two like they were the strangest pair he had ever met and maybe they were. After all, he had a feeling Yukime and his master didn't have quite the same relationship.

"Oh, no reason, thought you might like a little light like Yukine does." He didn't want to make things awkward and he knew how embarrassed Yukine was about his fear. He was rewarded with a small smile from Yukine, but he couldn't return it.

Yukime wasn't afraid of the dark, and while he might be overthinking it, that could mean he hadn't died the same way as Yukine. This brought up a world of questions, and yeah, he was done, he couldn't take any more questions tonight - predawn- or whatever three in the morning was called.

Yukime still hadn't moved, his body thrummed with a nervous energy, and Yato wished there was something he could do to make him feel welcomed.

"Go ahead, I won't need it tonight anyway." He gently patted Yukime's back without thinking and the reaction was immediate.

A strangled, desperate cry broke from the regalia as he tossed himself to the side and hit the doorway edge hard enough to shake the wall.

Yukine and he both eyed the regalia with varying degrees of concern and shock. However, Yukime recovered within seconds and straightened up in the doorway, though his posture was too perfect to come off as natural.

"I, um, need to wash up." Yukime was gone faster than Yato could teleport, and zipped into the darkness of the hallway with a renewed purpose. This was further proof the darkness had no hold on him. However, if Yukime didn't fear the darkness, he wondered if the kid feared something else. Though if it was anything like how his kid had died, perhaps he shouldn't think too hard about it.

"He's afraid of you."

Yato turned to see Yukine was carrying a serious frown and that his eyes were moist with sympathy.

"More like terrified." He didn't want to have this conversation now, didn't want to think of what this could mean.

"You don't think-"

"Go to sleep, Yukine. It's been a long night." He couldn't bring himself to face his regalia, not when concern was bubbling his insides and his heart was hammering far too quickly. Yukine stared at him for a second, evaluating whether to push him, but soon he heard his kid lay down and pull the covers over himself. Yato returned to leaning against the wall and peered into the darkness outside their room, listening to the faint sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

He wasn't sure how different Yukime's life had been in comparison to Yukine's or what the other Yato was like, but from what he had seen so far, Yato had the foreboding feeling they would find out soon enough.

* * *

 **Thanks again for reading guys! Just to let you know, I expect this to be five chapters long. The next chapter should be out in a week, so see ya then! ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews, followings, and favoriting of this story! I must say you guys had a lot of interesting theories about Yukime's Yato, and some of your theories were really close, but this new chapter will clarify some things…or confuse you even more :3**

* * *

He blinked at the scene before him, then rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Nothing changed.

Yukine and Yukime really were sleeping in the exact same position. Both of them were lying on their left sides, faces obscured by their comforters. Perhaps it was his blurry eyesight -it was already daylight and he hadn't slept a wink- but he swore even their breathing was synchronized. Nope, it wasn't his imagination, they really were mirroring each other in every way because right now both of them were shifting until their left hands slid out onto the wooden floor and they shivered.

It seemed his kid - _kids_ \- needed a little help. He went to Yukine and crouched beside his shinki before tucking his regalia's hand back into the pocket of warmth he was burrowed in. He examined his regalia's face right after to make certain he hadn't disturbed his kid's sleep, but lingered longer than he intended because Yukine looked so different when he wasn't scowling at him. He appeared younger and smaller when the covers were swathed around him like this. He shook his head and snorted. If Yukine woke up and saw him staring, he would be smacked into a wall without question.

Deciding not to risk it, he hopped up, stepped over to Yukime, and proceeded to repeat his actions. However, as he adjusted the blankets around the shinki's hand, he noticed Yukime did not look like Yukine in his sleep. In fact, the kid's face was a little bit angular, the edges of his chin and cheeks were missing some of their baby fat roundness. Had Yukime been a little older than Yukine -fifteen maybe- when he passed? If so, this only further proved that Yukime had died in a different manner than his own shinki.

Yukime shifted again and his top cover dropped beneath his chin. A sky blue cloth peeked out. Was he _still_ wearing that scarf? Yato couldn't help but think this was a choking hazard, so he gently eased the blanket down until the scarf was fully uncovered. He gave the garment a light tug.

Yukime jerked up, gasping, eyes wide. Yato dropped the scarf, anticipating the regalia to react as he had last night, but not for the way Yukime hunched into a ball and threw the covers over himself. Not the trembling or the whimpering that grew sharper and more potent the longer he remained frozen above the kid.

"Y-Yukime?" He didn't know what to do, what he could have done wrong, but he felt a thick wad of guilt pilling up his chest along with Yukime's terror.

"It's alright, it's just me." He lowered his voice and kneeled so his face was closer to where he assumed Yukime was hiding his. The whimpers sounded like outright wailing the closer his ear got to the blanket, and his heart faltered because this kid was in such pain -he felt it- and it was all his fault.

"W-Which 'me'?"

The muffled question surprised him, for he thought Yukime was no longer coherent. Yet he couldn't answer because he wasn't sure what the shinki meant. Was he asking which Yato he was? Or had he misheard the muffled speech?

"It's Yato, you know," An idea came to him and he forced a smile onto his face, knowing it would carry over into his voice. "Delivery god Yato! Soon to be god of fortune! One day going to have billions of worshippers, crowd of gorgeous women falling at my feet, all that and more Yato!" He crossed his arms and threw his head up high in a showy display of confidence.

Then he waited.

The blankets loosened and it was a struggle to keep smiling as he saw a lone orange eye stare at him from the darkness under the covers. They eyed each other for a second. Then a clammy hand sprang free and the shinki drew the blankets down to his waist. Yukime was still staring at him intently in the eyes, searching for something, but nodded to himself after a moment and looked away.

Mindful of the tension lingering in the room, Yato kept his volume near whisper levels. "Are you okay?"

Yukime nodded. "Sorry, I don't like people touching my scarf." The boy's hand reached up to finger the cloth. A distant look overtook the regalia's face while he rubbed the cotton garment between his thumb and index finger.

"Oh, my bad, I thought you might get tangled in it." He grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. Yukime observed him, face unreadable, and it was disorienting to see him appear that way because it was Yukine's face too and he was used to anger or sadness or joy, but never such apathy on his kid's face.

"I'm going to clean up." Yukime rose without facing him, but Yato knew the kid meant he was going to wipe away the tear stains on his cheeks. Okay, now he reeeally felt bad about that.

A surge of jealousy struck him, and Yato looked over his shoulder. Yukine was sitting up, probably awoken by the commotion, but he wasn't looking at Yato. He was glaring into the hallway where Yukime had just left, and Yato idly wondered if this was going to be a problem.

* * *

"This is sooo amazing!" Kofuku gushed, clapping her hands together. "Stand next to each other, let me see!" She ushered Yukine until he and Yukime were standing shoulder-to-shoulder. They both were clearly embarrassed and their hunched shoulders revealed their reluctance to participate, but Kofuku was so excited it seemed they couldn't deny her.

"Huh?" Kofuku leaned in close to Yukime, and Yato frowned from his place in the doorway because the kid didn't flinch -unlike with him. "Yukki-Two is taller!"

"What?" Yukine seemed mildly outraged by this statement.

Kofuku bobbed her head. "He is! Look!" She raised a hand above each of the shinki, lowering it onto their heads before sliding the hands next to each other. However, the hand above Yukime ended up above the other. Yato took this as further proof that Yukime was older.

Yukine scowled, moving away from Kofuku and Yukime. "Can we please eat breakfast already?"

Yato smiled because Yukine never liked having his height pointed out since he wasn't exactly the tallest teenager around.

Kofuku bobbed her head in agreement, not at all fazed by his kid's mood. "Sure, we left you some in the fridge." She looked up to the ceiling and tapped a finger against her lips. "I wish I'd checked Yukki-Two's height earlier, now the matching clothes set I asked Daikoku to buy might be too small on him."

"Matching clothes?!" Yukime and Yukine's face twisted into identical expressions of exasperation. "We're not twins!" They waved their hands in denial before realizing they had both spoken and acted in the exact same manner. They slowly lowered their hands and shared a look. Yato wondered if some sort of kinship or understanding passed between them, but if so, it was fleeting. Yukine looked away, muttering something about reheating their breakfast prior to wandering into the kitchen area.

"So what am I like in your reality?" Kofuku leaned in to Yukime's face and the kid leaned back from the sudden attention. "Do I look the same? Are my clothes different? What is Daikoku like there?"

An overwhelmed look appeared on Yukime's face, so Yato took a step into the room to intervene.

"Uh, you're pretty much the same," Yukime managed to get out. "But your hair is red." He waved at her pink curls.

"Really?!" Kofuku clutched her hair and pouted, probably picturing herself with the darker hair tone.

"Do I get breakfast too?" Yato went up to the table they were standing around and he hated how Yukime flinched and paled, good mood evaporating once he laid eyes on Yato.

He didn't meet Yukime's eyes again, the kid seemed more relaxed when he wasn't staring at him, but he sensed the shinki examining him.

"Of course you do, Yato-chan! I'll get a plate for you!" She offered with a smile, spinning away after giving Yukime a pat on the head and muttering something he couldn't hear but left the kid blushing a bit.

He searched for something to say that wouldn't scare the regalia, but Yukine returned with a couple of plates of food and handed one to Yukime before he could scrounge up some words.

"Oooh," Yato leaned over his shinki's shoulder after they got seated at the table, reaching for the food on his kid's plate. "Anything for me, Yukine?"

"Back off, baka!" His regalia stabbed at his hand with a spoon, which hurt enough for him to pull back with a yelp. "You have your own food so stop being greedy!" His kid proceeded to chow down on his breakfast as if he expected Yato to try to steal again, which was justified he had to admit.

Then Yukine elbowed him in the chest until he moved away, sulking and petting his abused hand. "Fine! I'll just buy myself something really tasty when I go on my job!" He crossed his arms, soured because he was starving, until Kofuku reappeared to hand him a plate of food and his mouth watered as he got a whiff of it.

"You already got a job today? That's great!" Kofuku sat next to him at the table, inserting herself between him and Yukime, who was silently sipping his tea. He couldn't help but wonder if Kofuku had noticed the tension between them. If so, he appreciated her efforts while also despairing that Yukime's fear was so intense one could pick up on it simply by entering the room.

"What type of job are we doing today?" Yukine had already scarfed down his meal, and was holding his tea in the exact position as Yukime was -the mimicry was starting to weird him out.

"Well, I've got a housekeeping job, but I need you to do something else for me." He spoke in between bites, hoping he was understood but not caring about much else beside the warm food on his plate -so delicious! Maybe he could go for seconds today, Kofuku always let him get away with things Daikoku wouldn't.

"What do you mean?" His hafuri was frowning, no doubt suspicious he was going to be sent on an annoying errand. As if he ever did that!

...Okay, sometimes he did.

"Don't look at me like that!" He whined because this was actually important. "I need you to find out if Kazuma knows anything about alternate realities," he stopped munching, turning serious. "Scope out his private library if you can, a guy like him has to have one, and let me know whatever you find out."

Yukine set down his tea, realizing this task actually was important. "Well, I was planning to get some training in with Kazuma today," he glanced down at his arm. "But I'm going to have to put my arm in sling so Kazuma doesn't realize it wasn't me they treated last night."

"You're going to disguise yourself?" Kofuku shot up to her feet and pulled up Yukine a second later, startling his kid. "That sounds like fun! Let me help you get dressed up, I have costumes in my room!" She dragged Yukine away despite his protests that he only needed a sling, not a costume, but Kofuku was an unstoppable force when she wanted to be. His poor regalia.

The room went silent after the two left, and Yato knew it was because no one was there to be a buffer for him and the kid. He sighed when he noticed Yukime was quietly sipping at his tea, hunched into himself in an attempt to fade into the background.

He couldn't leave the kid like this. Maybe the shinki was afraid of him, for reasons he wouldn't consider yet, but Yato had the oddest feeling some part of Yukime actually wanted him around. To be frank, the kid wasn't always regarding him in a cautious manner, he was looking at him in expectation as if he was waiting to be told what to do. It likened the way a lost child searched for the nearest authority figure, which made sense considering Yukime was far from his reality.

Though maybe it was simply because he was technically the regalia's master, so he was used to Yato -a version of him anyway- telling him what to do, but whatever the reason, Yato felt obligated to watch over the shinki. After all, they were bonded so technically Yato did have an obligation to Yukime. Also he had pondered what it must feel like to be in Yukime's master place. If his kid had fallen into another reality, he would hope someone would take care of his kid, so shouldn't he do the same?

Decision made, he grinned widely and hoped it softened his appearance in Yukime's eyes. "Do you want to come with me on the job, Yukime?"

The kid's head jerked up and his orange faced blue. There was a bit of unease translated in this exchange.

Yet the answer was clear before Yukime opened his mouth.

* * *

On the job, Yato expected the snark about how he was a maid -plumber in this case- and an outright refusal to help him fix the leaky pipes under the kitchen sink. He did not anticipate for Yukime to join him on the tiled floor, or the way he handed him the tools -the right ones at that- before Yato could even ask. The kid didn't utter a single complainant, was mainly mute regardless of how much Yato tried to prompt him into conversation -and try he had!

Though the oddest thing about the shinki became evident when they finished the job a few hours later and Yukime actually seemed a bit put out. He sensed the disappointment rather than saw it because Yukime was putting in no effort to shelter him from his emotions, probably because he had never been taught how to in his reality.

However, he didn't want Yukime's contentment to fade into nothing. He didn't want the unspoken truce they had established to vanish. Not to say the kid was magically comfortable around him now, however, Yukime's fear had dwindled the longer they worked together until the regalia seemed to forget -at least for the moment- whatever had made him so afraid in the first place. That was why instead of teleporting them straight home, he led Yukime to a nearby ice cream shop.

"Pick whatever flavor you want!" He gestured to the spectrum of brightly-colored frozen treats behind the glass.

Yukime's eyes went wide, not with terror -thanks goodness- but in surprise. The shinki gaped as he regarded the variety of flavors behind the glass.

"You're getting me ice cream?" Yukime was somewhere between suspicious and excited, but he was disappointed when wariness won out and the regalia regarded Yato with narrowed eyes. It reminded him a lot of how Yukine used to regard him in the beginning, when he blighted him all the time. He idly wondered if Yukime had blighted his master too, or did blighting not happen in the kid's reality?

"Yukine told me you were broke."

"Gah!" Yato clutched at his heart and nearly swooned because his own hafuri had made him sound like some penniless bum -even if it had some truth to it. "That's why you're shocked I'm buying you ice cream?!" He was already pulling at his hair and shaking his head in denial. How could his kid be so cruel?!

Yukime bit his bottom lip like he was trying to figure out if he was supposed to laugh or actually help his temporary master.

He felt the kid getting anxious with indecision so straightened up, but couldn't stop himself from sounding dejected. "He must have told you when he leant you his clothes this morning." He sniffed for a second, but soon crossed his arms and put on his best display of arrogance. "Well, lucky for us, I found where Yukine was hiding his money stash and I borrowed some so who's the broke one now?"

He chuckled to himself because he had been so clever. This time he hadn't taken the money all at once, but so gradually over time that Yukine probably hadn't noticed and simply assumed he had misplaced a bill or two over the past month without questioning if Yato was behind it.

A soft series of exhales broke out behind him and his head whipped over to see Yukime was...

Was laughing?!

His eyes fluttered rapidly because he had actually done it. Yukime was really laughing, though it didn't last long and sounded rough like an old car starting up for the first time in years, but it was still laughter.

Yukime wasn't facing him as his chuckles faded, but he thought he spotted the corner of the kid's lips curving up. "My master used to steal from me all the time, wasting my hard earned money on useless charm-" His mouth snapped shut with a click of his teeth and the regalia slapped a hand over his lips as if he had uttered a dreadful thing.

He was worried by this sudden change, and would be disappointed that he couldn't keep the kid happy for even a minute, but was too focused on figuring out the reason behind Yukime's renewed terror to dwell on that. "Are you alright?"

Yukime, through what looked like a great act of will, dropped his hand from his mouth and smoothed out his expression until there was no discernible emotion on his face. The shinki was still breathing fast, but that too was regulating itself as he walked up to the ice cream bar and placed his hands on the glass to steady himself.

Yato kept his distance and his tone light. "Are you okay?"

Yukime nodded after a moment and he didn't really believe the shinki, but was at a lost for what to do. If this were Yukine, he would prod the teen until he admitted whatever was bothering him. However, this kid wasn't really _his_ kid, and he doubted the teenager would admit anything when it seemed the very root of his problem stemmed from Yato.

He would have to be subtle then.

"How about you sit at the table and I get you some vanilla? I'm not that hungry myself, but you earned this for all the help you gave me." He herded the boy over to a small unoccupied table in the corner before Yukime could claim he didn't want ice cream. The shinki obeyed, though frowning, and he hurried to get through the paying process.

He went back to the table where Yukime held his chin in one hand and stared out the glass wall as people strolled by on the sidewalk.

"Here you go!" He dropped the cup of ice cream with a plastic spoon in it on the table and Yukime started before spotting the desert. "Eat it before it melts!"

Yukine would have pointed out that it was too cold inside and outside for it to melt, but this kid merely grabbed the spoon and scooped the treat into his mouth in perfect obedience, and Yato didn't like that. He actually preferred it when his kid gave him a hard time because when Yukime just followed orders, his gut screamed at him like he had committed a terrible sin. Perhaps it was because he himself knew that following a "master" -father- without question always led to bloodshed and guilt, and he never wanted to make anyone feel like that -especially not his kid.

That familiar tension was filling the air between them as Yukime munched on the sugary desert without a trace of a smile. Yup, time to implement Plan A.

"So feel free not to answer," he used a casual tone but saw Yukime's hand tighten on the spoon anyway. "But you've been feeling out of sorts since you got here, and I was wondering if I was doing anything wrong? This could be because you're from a different reality, but I can't help you unless you explain..."

Yukime released the spoon so it fell with a clank into the half-empty cup and his eyes went wide. "It's not..." The kid made a motion like he was going to wring his hands together, but the sling made that difficult so he aborted the motion. "I'm just worried about my master."

He expected to be blighted by that statement, so when he wasn't, and saw the downward tilt to the kid's eyes, he realized Yukime genuinely cared about the other him -Other Yato he now decided to call him.

"He doesn't have any shinki besides me and he can't do...jobs without me. I really need to get back soon or he might get in trouble."

Yato knew once again there were holes in Yukime's story, but didn't want to risk causing the kid to clam up by pointing this out. "So you're his hafuri like Yukine is mine?" Yukime nodded and he added this detail to the list of things the shinki had revealed about Other Yato. "In that case, you don't have to worry." He beamed an encouraging smile across the table. "If my kid went missing, I'd manage so I'm sure he's doing the same!"

The smile dropped from his face when Yukime narrowed his eyes and looked to the side. "But he's not you." The bitterness in the regalia's voice burned him like ice applied to bare skin.

Yato felt his brain go into overdrive because there was some part of that statement that screamed important, and the curiosity that stemmed from concern was killing him.

Yukime's gaze shot over to him and there was panic written all over his face. "W-Wait, you don't have my permission!"

Yato had no idea what the kid was going on about, but couldn't say a word before the world flashed white as if lightning had struck his soul and suddenly he was no longer in the shop.

He was no longer in his body.

He had no idea where he was.

Of course he was already panicking because he was conscious yet he felt disconnected from his body, as if he were floating in a dreamlike state. He raised his hands up to his eyes, but could barely make them out in the darkness encompassing the world surrounding him. He swiveled around and peered into the nothingness, however, the abyss gave him no answers.

He was preparing to call out because he needed help, when his ears picked up the faintest sound of someone crying. He instinctively rotated until he caught sight of a blond boy on his knees in the middle of a carpeted floor with his face in his hands.

"Yukine?!" He tried to run over to his crying child, but his body wouldn't allow him to do more than lift a limb and he was rooted in this spot far above the crying regalia. What was this? Where was he? Who had hurt his kid?!

An unseen door creaked open and Yukine raised his head in response, and suddenly Yato knew that wasn't his kid crying, it was Yukime down there!

A pair of brown boots entered the scene and he recognized the tracksuit covering that body as it stopped by Yukime. A shiver crawled down his spine because the resemblance was uncanny without him even seeing the god's face.

"There you are!" Other Yato's voice, identical to himself and thus eerie to him, rang cheerfully in the room in sharp contrast to Yukime's mournful sobs. The kid cringed as a tracksuit-covered arm curled around his shoulders and Yukime released his head to reveal tears cascading down his cheeks as he weakly struggled to pull away.

"Shhh," Other Yato leaned down so his mouth was near the shinki's ear, and Yato felt sick just watching because that was his body holding on to the clearly struggling regalia and he wanted so badly to help the kid, but there was nothing he could do.

"G-Get off!" Yukime's voice cracked and fell apart as his cries intensified. He was still squirming to get out of Other Yato's grip, but his struggling was feeble.

"Don't cry," Other Yato was facing Yukime, so he couldn't see his expression but he had this icky feeling his other self was smiling. "Nothing has really changed, you'll see."

"S-Shut..." Yukime's sobs clogged his throat and suddenly he became deadweight in the circle of Other Yato's arms, the fight leaving him entirely as he cried near hysterically in his master's arms. He could see the tears spilling over that tracksuit sleeve as Other Yato enveloped him and the shinki's hitched breathing became so sporadic Yato was worried the kid was going to stop breathing altogether.

Yet Other Yato simply shushed Yukime and and rocked him, but it wasn't comforting, it was wrong. It was wrong, wrong, wrong!

Yato and Yukime flung themselves up from the table, nearly knocking over their chairs in the process and causing the lone employee to flicker his eyes over to them before dismissing the commotion as less interesting than his phone.

Yato clutched at his chest, heart beating fast enough to rival a hummingbird's as he scanned the room rapidly to make sure he really was back in the ice cream shop.

"Why?" Yukime was staring at him, and for the first time ever, the kid was glaring at him without a hint of fear. "Why would you read my mind without my permission?!" He curled his lone free arm around his middle, a speck of hurt -betrayal- weaving into his angry tone.

Still reeling from whatever he had just went through, Yato shook his head. "What do you mean? I have no idea what just happened!" He latched on the chair and leaned on it because he needed something to ground himself and remind him what was real.

The anger melted from Yukime's face and his expression softened into confusion and surprise. "You didn't mean to read my mind?" There was a certainty to the question that made it more of a statement. "Do gods not do that here?" A thin thread of fledgling hope entered the kid's voice.

He shook his head with as much fervor he could muster without making himself dizzy. "No, we see into our shinki's _hearts_ , sense their _feelings_ , we do not go into their heads." He didn't feel so worked up anymore, but he was still disoriented so retook his seat to help his blood pressure go down.

Yukime followed suit and observed his recovery for a solid minute before saying, "I'm sorry, I assumed masters did that here too."

Yato stared back at him. "So that was your memory?" He saw the kid pulling into himself like a turtle that just sensed an incoming predator, so he hurried to change the topic. "What did you mean by permission?"

Yukime's shoulders lowered an inch and he opened up tentatively. "Oh, um, masters normally ask for permission before going into their shinki's head. It's common courtesy."

Yato wanted to hit himself because he had broken what was clearly an important rule in Yukime's reality and now the regalia actually had good reason to be wary of him. "I'm sorry, kid, I didn't mean to." He doubted that this meager apology would make up for what he had done. A mind was a private place and he had broken in without any regard to the poor kid's privacy.

Yukime blinked, then shook his head. "No, it didn't hurt me or anything, it was just unexpected. Just try not to focus on me so hard, that's how masters slip into our thoughts, they concentrate on us."

He nodded and forced himself to label this information as important in his head, so he wouldn't forget it.

"We should get back," The regalia was eyeing the wall, focusing on the clock that showed they had been in the shop for over half an hour. "I'm sure Yukine is back by now." He rose up and Yato didn't have the heart to stop him from leaving the half-eaten cup of ice cream. The mood had been ruined and it was his fault for concentrating too hard on the regalia. How odd it was to be in the shinki's role for once, like a regalia did their best to keep their emotions in check for their master's sake, he would have to do the same for Yukime lest he invade the kid's private thoughts again.

The shinki fiddled with his scarf as they entered the sidewalk and Yato wondered why he was so attached to the thing. Was it a gift from a friend? No, sad to say, he had a feeling Yukime had less friends than Yukine. Maybe from his master then?

He immediately recalled the memory he had witnessed and realized that was highly unlikely. Other Yato didn't seem like the giving type and he hoped he wasn't concentrating too hard on Yukime, but he needed to think about this.

From what he had seen, Yukime had a very unhealthy -to use a nicer term- relationship with his master. He was scared of Yato, and he knew he hadn't done anything to the kid, but after what he saw in that memory he was certain Other Yato was the source of the regalia's fear. Yet he couldn't outright declare Other Yato a monster because of one memory. Plus Yukime hadn't badmouthed his master once. The kid had even mentioned Other Yato buying charms and stealing his money, much like he did to his Yukine. Also, the shinki expressed concern for his master, and though he was scared of Yato, there was this hint of contentment or perhaps the beginnings of joy oozing from the kid whenever he got to be by Yato's side. Maybe he was being too hard on the Other Yato, maybe there was some cultural difference between the two realities he was missing.

The image of Yukime becoming hysterical while Other Yato shushed him shoved its way into his head and he shuddered because he didn't care how different the other reality was, there was something inherently wrong with that scene. So was he truly wrong to be concerned?

Or was he merely ignoring the facts because he didn't want to accept the ugly truth?

Yato felt torn because he didn't want to jump to conclusions when he didn't have much evidence, but if Other Yato wasn't all that nice, he was going to have to-

"Borderline!"

Yato skidded to a halt when Yukime leapt in front of him and tossed the borderline between them and the spider-like ayakashi. He gaped at the sheer enormity of the beast towering above them as well as the shop's lining the street while its pincer mouth snapped open.

The row of eyeballs that stared at him from above was downright surreal because he had been completely oblivious to the danger a second ago and could have been seriously hurt if not for the shinki's quick actions.

"Yato?" Yukime was eyeing him in concern, probably worried his lack of talking meant he was hurt.

"I'm okay," he hurried out, but there was no time for talking when the ayakashi suddenly hurled its body into the borderline, and to their horror, shattered it.

He grabbed Yukime by the collar and launched himself and the kid back a few yards, yet the creature was barreling towards them far too quickly.

"Come on!" He switched his grip to hold Yukime's good wrist and practically dragged the kid into a run because a borderline wouldn't work and this shinki was already down an arm so they had no choice except to flee.

"Yato!"

He shoved Yukime away and then flung himself back as a purple leg stabbed into the asphalt between them. He heard a shout break into the air and his heart jumped into his throat because one of the other legs might have gotten the kid -his kid!- but when he gazed across the empty parking lot, he saw Yukime was sitting on the ground with his eyes squeezed shut. His kid was clutching his injured arm tight and he figured he must have landed on the arm or jostled it and Yato silently promised to feel bad about that when there wasn't a razor-sharp spider leg diving at his head with deadly precision.

He flipped over the leg, grateful that being big also meant the ayakashi was fairly slow, and he weaved around the other legs to speed over to the downed regalia's side.

"What's wrong?" He bent over and tried to pull Yukime to his feet, but the regalia screamed when he had only risen an inch before snapping his mouth close to muffle the sound. Yato's eyes widened because there was blood trickling down the shinki's arm and dyeing the sling black in a random pattern around Yukime's wrist. He instantly let Yukime sit back on the ground.

This was bad, really bad.

He kept one eye on the ayakashi charging them from afar and another on his kid. "Don't worry, I can deal with this." He stood up, thoughts flying across his mind and half-baked plans forming because he didn't know what to do, had no idea what to do, this was bad! The monster was upon them and stretched open its grotesque mouth.

Yukime opened his eyes a sliver to reveal tears prickling the edges and forced out through clenched teeth, "Yato..." An edge of steely determination entered his kid's eyes right as the ayakashi dove at them. "Use me!"

He didn't have time to think it over.

"Sekki!"

* * *

 **Yeah, things are really moving now, huh? Next chapter should be up at latest in a week, but if I get hit by a bolt of inspiration like when I wrote this, it could be posted a little earlier. See ya then!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! A lot of you're theories about Yukime's past are very close so kudos to all you theorists, but this chapter should clarify some things.**

 **Enjoy the read!**

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The katanas formed in Yato's hands as he leapt back and the ayakashi snapped its jaws over the now empty space. He landed a great distance away, but knew this safety was temporary. The ayakashi was already recovering, and he was itching to attack it, but Yukime's emotions were a whirlwind of every feeling and his kid's dominant emotion was fear.

It didn't help that despite him being familiar with these very weapons, they felt off in his hands, and he wondered if that was because Yukime himself didn't feel right doing this. Perhaps his master hadn't used him to battle ayakashi in a while or he simply wasn't comfortable with another version of his master using him.

Regardless, the ayakashi was charging them and he sensed Yukime was calming so he leapt high into the sky. "Let's go!" He shouted to prep the shinki for what was to come, and though there was hesitation and fear, his kid was also a bit excited as he adjusted his grip to strike the beast below.

Happy to sense a spark of positive emotion from the shinki, Yato grinned as he purposely fell at an angle to slice the front legs off the spider-like creature since he wanted to test out his kid's strength before going in for the kill.

His eyes went wide as he cut clean through all eight of the creature's legs and skidded onto the sidewalk until he stopped in a crouch. The ayakashi collapsed onto its belly, twitching and wailing lowly.

Well, that was unexpected.

"S-Sorry," Yukime said bashfully. "I thought the ayakashi might be stronger in this reality so I didn't hold back."

Yato was still reeling from the sheer power his kid had unleashed, but grinned a toothy smile. "No, you're doing great!" He felt Yukime's tentative pleasure reach him -was the kid not used to compliments?- and hoped the regalia's positive emotions would flourish, but he heard a thump behind him and spun back to see the ayakashi was still lurching towards them on its stumps.

However, Yato had no reason to hold back now. "Let's finish this!" He dashed forward, striking the creature head on and slicing through its mouth and torso with ease. His boots skidded onto the asphalt and he lowered the katanas once his momentum ended, but he didn't look back because he knew the ayakashi was no more.

He was breathing hard from the exultation of defeating such a large ayakashi with so little effort. It would have taken Yukine and him at least a couple more attacks to take one that size down, but Yukime had practically did it in one. Being older must have given Yukime an advantage or maybe shinki were more powerful in his reality. Regardless, he was proud.

"Great job, Yukime!" He stared down at the katanas and smiled, however, his expression dimmed when he actually took in the katanas' apperance. They were identical to Yukine's form except the bandages around the handles weren't white, they were a dark pink or red color. Odd, they reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"C-Can you revert me now?" His kid's voice trilled weakly, and recalling the shinki had been bleeding -oh, he was such an idiot!- he rushed to obey.

"Revert, Yuki!" Panic made the command sharper than he intended but he didn't care as the transformation took hours rather than the seconds it should have because his kid was _bleeding_ and in pain and how could he forget his kid was hurt?!

Yukime appeared, already clutching his arm with his face twisted into a grimace, and Yato lurched forward to place gentle hands onto the bleeding area.

The regalia jumped, eyes darting up in surprise. "What-"

"Hold on, kid, don't worry, I can fix this!" He tried to be comforting as a sluggish trail of blood darkened another spot on the sling, but he needed to get it off and see how bad it was -please don't be too serious!

Yukime pulled back, slipping out of his light grip, and Yato was a little hurt his kid still didn't trust him. Until he noticed a wave of confusion -not fear- was hitting him. He looked into Yukime's pained expression and the boy saw the unspoken question in his eyes.

"The bleeding is just from a little scrape," Yukime bit out. "It's my arm...I forgot to take my painkillers on the job." The shinki breathed out a puff of air, fighting to keep in the pain, and though this was still concerning, he couldn't help but be glad things weren't as serious as he had thought. However, his mild joy evaporated as it occurred to him that he had never looked over the instructions for Yukime's treatment and he could tell his kid was hurting more than he showed without the painkillers' numbing effect. His guilt for not overlooking Yukime's recovery snapped at his insides until he felt downright rotten.

He flipped open his phone and laid a light hand on his kid's head. Yukime jerked up and he sent the shinki a sad smile. "Let's go home."

Yukime blinked and he was certain his eyes got a little watery because he felt his kid's pleasure was tinged with a deep longing -a nostalgia- for more of his touch so he didn't move his hand as they teleported. After all, this was the closest to happy Yukime had been since he arrived.

As they landed outside the door, Yato ruffled his regalia's hair and smiled at the pink dusting over Yukime's cheeks, hoping the embarrassment would distract the kid from the pain in his arm.

He opened the door and held it for Yukime to walk in. When he entered, the first thing he noticed was the scent of food drifting out of the kitchen and his stomach really wanted to know what Daikoku was cooking but there were more important things to attend to.

"Its about time you came back," Yukine greeted him, and he was taken aback because he hadn't even seen his regalia sitting at the table with a math workbook spread out before him. The teen wasn't looking at them as he scrawled an answer onto a page.

"What held you up?" He turned his head back. "You missed Hiyori-" His orange eyes took in the sight of Yukime who was still clutching his arm and wincing. "What happened?" He quickly abandoned his book and rose in concern.

Yato waved his kid down while Yukime headed over to the staircase, probably having left the painkillers in their bedroom. "Don't worry, we ran into an ayakashi and things went a little awry but were fine now." He was speaking to his kid, but he was focusing on the laborious way Yukime climbed up the steps. Perhaps he should go with him.

"What do you mean you ran into an ayakashi?" Yukine jolted him from his thoughts by appearing right in front of him and cutting off his view of the older version of his kid. "And why were you out in the open? You said you only had a simple housemaid job." His kid was scowling and his arms were crossed over his chest.

Yato blinked, sensing that his kid was simmering but his attention was divided and he was starting to feel the effects of the all-nighter he had pulled clouding his head. "Oh, well I thought I'd get him some ice cream to celebrate a job well done," He felt the anger spike in his shinki before the kid tampered it down. "And when we left the store we ran into an ayakashi on the streets."

His shinki's eyes were a burning orange and his tone was full with what he sensed was suspicion. "So you tried to run and Yukime got hurt then?"

"Yeah," he bobbed his head, and figuring this exchange was done, decided to go upstairs because his kid -other kid- was upstairs and shouldn't Yukime have come down by now? He needed water to take those painkillers, right?

"Hey!" Yukine caught his sleeve when he started walking off, eyes narrowed. "You haven't even asked about my job." He felt the faintest sense of disappointment from his kid, and realized he really was off his game today.

"Oh, sorry, kid, I forgot." He smiled when Yukine huffed and gave him an unimpressed look. "How did it go? You find anything?"

"Well, from what I could tell, Kazuma didn't know much or ever really thought about alternate realities, but he let me borrow a couple of books on the subject." Yukine smiled a bit smugly. "I told him I was grabbing them for you because you thought it could help you understand Hiyori's situation. I left them upstairs if you want to read them."

Yato smiled brightly and then wrapped his arm around Yukine's shoulders and drew him to his side, ignoring the squawk of indignation. "That's my kid! So clever!" He ruffled his regalia's hair for good measure and laughed at his kid's attempts to push him off.

"Shut up, baka!" Yukine knocked him away, face the faintest shade of red and refusing to meet his eyes.

"Fine, fine," he raised his hands in surrender. "I'll go take a look at them and see if there's anything helpful." It helped that he needed to check of Yukime upstairs too. He turned to head up the stairs, but when his foot landed on the first step, his ears caught the whispered words.

"I hope we get him home soon."

Yato frowned, hearing the unspoken "I don't want him here" from Yukine, but he didn't linger or turn back because he really needed to check on Yukime. Maybe his kid was a little jealous, he always had a bit of a possessive streak, but he was sure it could wait to be addressed later.

He reached their room and entered the doorway.

"See? It matches your scarf and fits you perfectly!"

He blinked at the sight of Yukime in a completely new outfit, which was a white jacket over a plain shirt and black pants. His poor kid was corned by the pink-haired goddess and was red in the face as she adjusted the jacket carefully around his sling so he wore it like a cape.

"Ooh, and I love the hood Daikoku picked out!" Kofuku yanked the jacket hood down before Yukime could stammer out a single syllable and suddenly black panda ears were sticking up on the kid's head -okay, that was actually adorable.

Yukime reached up to pull off the hood, causing Kofuku to pout. "It, um, was nice of you to get me this, but don't you think it would make Yukine happy to see his new clothes too?"

Kofuku blinked, then threw her hands up in a frantic flurry of motion. "You're right! I'll go get him, I want to see you both in your matching clothes!" The girl spun around and was out the door even as Yukime stretched his hand out to her.

"T-That's not what I meant..." The regalia's shoulders slumped until he caught sight of Yato and he flinched into a perfect posture.

"Hi, kiddo," he forced good cheer into his voice despite how much it hurt to see Yukime was being edgy around him again. "Did you take the pills already?"

Yukime stared at him, taking special care to linger on his eyes -what was his obsession with them?- before allowing himself to relax a bit. "Yeah, I did, doesn't even hurt now." The kid nodded, a half-smile briefly appearing on his face as he stared down at his arm. "And Kofuku gave me a bandage." The regalia's good hand pointed at the white bandage strip taped above his wrist.

"So you're good?" Yato took a step closer and though he sensed a mounting terror from the kid, the shinki stayed in place.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," The teen looked over his new apparel. "As soon as I can get out of this." He picked at the jacket's material, frowning in mild disgust. Apparently Yukime and Yukine were fine with cute things, as long as they weren't the ones wearing them. Yato couldn't help but grin at such teenage boy antics.

"Then I'll leave you to it." He looked around until he spotted the worn, unfamiliar hardcover books stacked by Yukine's lamp. He leaned down to pick them up, glancing at the title of the top book that read as _BOUNDARIES_. "I'll be right downstairs if you want to join me in reading some very boring books."

Yukime nodded, staring at the books curiously, but not voicing any questions so Yato made his way back downstairs.

On the way down, he observed Kofuku ushering Yukine upstairs and babbling about how cute they would look together. However, Yato didn't pay them much mind as he got seated at the table and set the books down. He didn't know where to start until he spotted the green bookmark sticking out. It seemed his kid had marked the page for him, and his deepest parts were warmed by the fact that Yukine had cut him some slack.

That or Yukine's jealousy was more out of hand than he assumed and he really wanted Yukime gone. However that wasn't his current priority, not when he had a lost kid and a master missing his hafuri to take care of.

He rubbed his eyes to clear away his foggy vision, opened the book, and dove in. The page was labeled Far Shore Connections and began by going on about how the average human could see the far shore in rare conditions, such as being near death. He skimmed it, finding it was all about how the two shores connected and nothing about other realities, until he got to the last paragraph.

"Borders between far shore and near shore, theoretically, could be broken by a vent... Vents are holes or tears in the fabric of reality, which is why they are so dangerous." He read out loud to make sure he truly soaked in the information. It made sense, and went along with what Yukime had said about Other Kofuku's abilities. It seemed he might need Kofuku's help to get Yukime home.

That was it for that book so he switched it with the next one that was titled _Vents and their Usages_. A lot of it consisted of what he already knew about Kofuku's vents until he read a section about vents being used as gateways. Theoretically, a vent could be used for transportation like teleporting, but if the destination was far, one needed two vent openings. One on the point of entry and one on the point of exit.

Now this presented a problem. He had no idea how to contact the other Kofuku and ask her to open a vent while his Kofuku did the same. He rubbed his eyes again because now he wasn't sure he could get Yukime home. He lowered his hands, frowning.

More importantly... _should_ he get Yukime home?

Yato tried to shake off the idea but he had to consider it. If Other Yato was -he hated to even think the word- abusive, how could he send the kid back to him? But how was he even supposed to know Yukime's master was abusive?

He saw the world flash as lightning struck his body and he mentally apologized to Yukime for the intrusion but he hadn't meant to do this and didn't know how to stop it.

He floated in the dark space, which still felt weird to him, but he was fairly calm because he knew what was happening this time. He rotated until he caught sight of a dim light shinning down on a scene, much like a spotlight shinning down on a stage play.

"Yukime," he whispered as he caught sight of blond tufts peeking out from beneath a bed cover with the shinki lying in the bed. A part of him wondered if this was the Other Kofuku's place or somewhere else entirely. What was the kid's living situation? Yukime hadn't needed a tour to find his way around Kofuku's place this whole time, yet all these memories took place in this unfamiliar bedroom rather than the attic room.

He shook those thoughts off, now wasn't the time, and refocused on the scene. However, he couldn't really see Yukime from this vantage point so he shifted until he wasn't staring down at the shinki so much as facing the regalia head on.

His heart plummeted when his blue met those pale orange eyes. Yukime looked awful, his hair was dull and his skin pale in the unnatural manner that resembled a corpse. The kid's eyes were wide and unblinking and he couldn't even see the boy's chest moving, so light was the regalia's breathing.

"What did he do to you?" He couldn't stop the horrified exhale from escaping because his kid had never looked so bad, even when Yukine's friend -Suzuha- had been killed the regalia hadn't looked so haunted.

The door creaked open from an unseen place and legs strode into view. Other Yato said nothing as he stopped in front of the bed and though Yato couldn't see more than the god's lower torso, he got the impression Other Yato was staring at the shinki. Immediately he felt his hackles raise because how could this master merely stand there when his shinki was in so much pain?!

Other Yato planted himself on the bed's edge in front of Yukime's stomach, but the kid didn't react, even as the god set down a plate of cookies -of all things- onto his lap.

"You haven't eaten for days, kiddo," Other Yato spoke in a somber timbre and Yato wanted to believe that was worry creeping into the master's voice, but he couldn't quite buy that.

"And you know how worried your master gets when you don't eat." There was an edge of amusement lurking beneath the god's serious tone and Yato wanted to scream because couldn't he see how hurt his kid was?! Was his other self an idiot or just cruel enough to ignore Yukime's pain?!

"And you can't expect your master to get jobs done when he's worried sick about his kid, right?" Other Yato lifted a sugar cookie and lowered it onto the bed sheets in front of the shinki's face, however, Yukime continued to stare into the nothingness, or what was probably a wall but the light didn't show much beyond the bed.

Other Yato leaned over so Yato could finally see his head, but he was facing the regalia so he could only see the god's dark hair -identical to himself and thus making him want a haircut if only not to look like this creep. "Come on, it wasn't that bad! In fact, I'm proud of you, my hafuri!" The voice was light and excited in a way that would actually remind him of himself, but in this context, when his kid was in such obvious pain, could only appear sadistic. "For this being your first time, you were a natural."

Yukime's eyes took on a wet sheen and the regalia whimpered, body curling into himself under the covers. Suddenly Yato had this queasy feeling in his gut as Other Yato's words echoed in his mind. First time for what?

Other Yato leaned in closer to his hafuri. "Didn't you see this coming? I mean, I am a god of calamity," The god's tone was nearly chiding and dripped with a dark undertone.

Yato cringed because it seemed his counterpart didn't have the same life goals he had.

"No..." A weak, but passionate emotion filled the shinki's eyes and Yato was taken aback by the venom in Yukime's words. "You're not."

Other Yato ignored his kid, continuing in a wistful tone. "I've been doing this my whole life. Even when I was a kid my form of playing was full of bloodshed," his voice dropped to a whisper and Yato felt all kinds of sick because he had this dreadful idea he knew exactly what had led to the regalia being so broken.

"And now you and me get to play all the time, Yukime-"

Yato was jerked out of the memory, knocking the books off the table as he scrambled to reassert himself in the physical world. His breathing was ragged as he clutched his chest because...because Other Yato was using Yukime for his calamity work.

 _"He can't do...jobs without me."_

He recalled what Yukime said earlier and his heart followed a new violent tempo because now he knew why the kid had hesitated and it killed him to think Yukime had been forced to kill-

A crash resounded from upstairs and Yato's eyes darted to the ceiling because he could hear shouting coming from up there and he recognized those voices.

"Is everything okay?" Kofuku poked her head into the doorway, violet eyes tilted in concern, but Yato waved her away.

"I'll go check, don't worry." He didn't grant her a chance to stop him as he ran up the staircase and the sounds of fighting became louder. He flung the attic door open and was greeted by a scene that left him gaping.

Yukine was grappling with Yukime and had the injured shinki pinned beneath him while he yanked at the regalia's scarf.

"Let go!" Yukime wheezed out because the scarf was digging into his windpipe despite how the kid was using all his might to keep the cloth in place around his neck.

"Stop!" Yato ran forward and seeing how Yukime was already fairly subdued, reached for Yukine and tugged the kid back by his jacket collar as he noticed his regalia was wearing the same outfit as Yukime.

His kid twisted his head back, a frustrated expression on his face. "Yato, he's-"

Yukime took advantage of the distraction to knee Yukine in the gut and his kid was thrown back into his arms while his eyes widened. They only expanded more as he righted the shinki in his arms only to see Yukime had made a halberd with his hand.

"Yukime, no!" He darted forward, and though the regalia was fast, Yato caught his hand and wrapped a arm around his waist before he could unleash the attack. "What do you think you're doing?!" He ignored the fear coming off the regalia as he lifted the kid slightly so he was squirming in his arms.

"Look!" Yukine reached forward and managed to unwind the scarf from his counterpart's neck before Yukime jerked so violently Yato stumbled back into the wall.

"Don't!" The shinki screamed, legs kicking out at Yukine and the kid's terror spiked so high he lost his grip because the pain in his chest was agonizing.

Yukime slipped out his hold while he clutched at his chest, but before the regalia could steady himself Yukine caught the scarf and yanked it so hard that Yukime nearly tumbled to his knees as the cloth came off.

"No!" Yukime scrambled to cover his neck, eyes full blown with terror but his single hand could only cover so much skin.

Yato's hand dropped from his chest as his heart stilled and all his oxygen flew out in a sharp gasp. Even Yukine froze up, triumphant expression turning into one of horror as Yukime, hunched over and trembling, frantically twisted his jacket hood over his exposed neck, but it was too late to cover the red marks.

The red kanji letters on his throat.

The red kanji letters going down his back.

The red kanji letters peeking out all over his torso from underneath his clothes.

None of those letters spelled Yuki except for the one near his collarbone because Yukime was a nora. A _nora_.

"I..." The kid tried to croak out a plea, but tears were already streaming down his eyes and the shinki's shame and misery had trapped the words in his throat. The kid's legs collapsed beneath him and the shinki ended up on his knees in the middle of the floor, knuckles paper white as he held the hood in place around his neck even now.

"How..." Yato fought to get his jaw working or any other part of his body to unlock from its frozen state. "How did this happen?" He whispered like the air was too thin because he felt breathless like he had been thrown high into the atmosphere and was already crashing back down to earth, surrounded by air with nothing solid to grasp.

"D-Don't, please!" Yukime's eyes bored into his but he couldn't get his thoughts in control before the lightning struck his soul and the world went dark.

Yato was given no time to adjust to being in the shinki's mind before his ears were assaulted by a desperate wailing and he saw Yukime crying violently as Other Yato restrained the shinki's hands behind his back while one arm kept the shinki pinned against his chest. The memory wasn't bright enough for him to fully see Other Yato's face, only the god's sickening smirk.

"Please don't! Don't do this!" Yukime screamed and writhed around futilely in his master's hold and Yato was confused until he saw there was a third person standing a few feet ahead of the two. The unknown man -god?- stretched out his hand and Yato pulled back as the unfamiliar god made a familiar hand motion.

"-with nowhere to go and nowhere to return."

"Yato!"

His head swiveled away from the god to see Yukime had turned his tear-filled gaze up to Other Yato, desperation pouring out with the shinki's tears. "Please, I can't be a nora! I can't, I can't!" The kid fought to escape while the naming process continued.

"Leave him alone!" Yato voiced the demand without meaning too, arms flying forward even though it was pointless. He couldn't move and this was an event of the past.

"You're not the first shinki I turned into a nora," Other Yato went on calmly, unperturbed by his hafuri's frantic attempts to break free. "You should have seen this coming."

Yato wanted to punch his other self and that was saying something considering he generally preferred to use weapons in a fight.

"Wake up, Yato!" Yukime begged through the sobs. "Look at what you're doing, stop this!" He screeched, ceasing his struggling to stare straight into Other Yato's face because the naming process was practically over and his master was his last chance.

Other Yato shook his head. "I promised him a blessed regalia and I can't afford to have my allies distrusting me so early." He lowered his voice like he was telling Yukime a secret, but the shinki merely sobbed harder as he renewed his struggles.

But then the name fell onto Yukime's neck and the kid gave one long, piercing scream and Yato could not sense his kid's feelings but the shinki's screams were echoing in his ears and the raw agony in them hurt just the same.

Yato wanted to throw up but in this non-physical form knew he couldn't. However, when the scene faded away rather than abruptly throw him back into reality, he felt his nausea intensify as the light renewed and a new scene appeared. No, he didn't need to see more. He didn't _want_ to see more!

"Yato!" Yukime was trapped in the arms of the unfamiliar god, being carried out a doorway with the new kanji letters flaming red on his neck as if they were a fresh, blistering wound on the kid. "H-Help me, Yato!" The regalia's yells turned into gibberish as the kid's crying overtook him. His kid wasn't even trying to escape, his energy spent and his will depleted. His kid's sole hope was Other Yato who stood still in the room.

"Don't worry, kiddo, I'll pick you up in a few days." Other Yato could have been speaking about the weather as he went up to shut the door on Yukime's tear-streaked face.

"Please-"

The door closed.

Yato returned to the attic room with a heaving breath like the drowning man that finally breached the ocean's surface.

"Yato!" Yukine called in concern, looking quickly from him to Yukime, who was bent over on the floor as if bracing for the house to come down upon them. He didn't blame the kid because he felt like his whole world was crumbling too because it was too much too soon.

Yet it had given him a clear answer.

Other Yato was a monster, completely and utterly, and he wanted to slap himself for ever trying to give the god the benefit of the doubt. However, as he straightened himself up and gazed down at the trembling kid at his feet, he knew what he had to do.

 _I can't send Yukime home._

And this idea brought a whole slew of problems, but if it kept this kid - _his_ kid- from that monster, the problems were worth it.

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Yukine lowered his tea cup onto its saucer, and Yato tried to ignore how his kid's pale hand trembled. "You saw all that in his head?" His regalia's voice was steady but it was thick and heavy with emotion that he was barely keeping away from Yato.

"Yes," He sat there at the table with his kid, grateful he had convinced Kofuku and Daikoku he had dealt with the commotion upstairs, though that wasn't true in any sense. "And from that and how scared he was of me at first," he forced away the memory of how Yukime flinched when he wrapped the kid's scarf over his other names. How the kid had stared at him like the regalia stared at Other Yato and he knew any trust he had formed with the teen had been broken the second he was revealed to be a nora.

"I can't believe his master would do that." A shudder passed through Yukine and no amount of hot tea could chase away the shinki's chilling despair.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and then blew out a heavy sigh. "I can't send Yukime back to that. I can't send him to such a life after everything he's already been through." He nearly divulged what he suspected of Yukime's life prior to becoming a shinki but technically that was Yukine's former life too and he would never risk speaking of that. Yukime had traded one abusive father for an abusive master and it killed him to know even death hadn't brought the poor kid relief.

"So what are we going to do if we don't send him back?" Yukine fidgeted, eyes sliding away.

"Well, he's already bonded to me," he felt jealousy stab a pointed dagger through his heart and his eyes narrowed. His regalia suddenly wrapped his arms around himself, and now Yato sensed guilt coming from the shinki.

"You could send him to live with another god. I bet since you're bonded with him you have the ability to release him." His kid still wouldn't meet his eyes and now he ran a hand down his face because this had gone on long enough.

"Yukine," his kid hushed and stilled but Yato couldn't let this stop him. "Mind telling me how that little fight upstairs got started?"

"It wasn't my fault." His regalia said defensively, shoulders pulled back so he sat up tall and scowl planted on his face like he was prepared for another fight.

"I didn't say it was," he replied serenely and the guarded look in the shinki's eyes ebbed at the lack of confrontation. "Why would you think I would assume it was your fault? For all I know you were just defending yourself." He meant it, truly he did, and he hoped the earnestness in his eyes told the teen this. Sure, Yukine could get territorial -over him- or angry -at him most days- but he knew his kid, and his hafuri had never attacked a fellow regalia unprovoked so he wouldn't make such an assumption now.

Yukine's lips twitched and the kid's eyes started to shimmer and though he didn't actually sense it, he could tell his kid was hurting. "I thought you would take Yukime's side." The regalia picked lint off his new black pants, head bowed.

"And what did I do to make you think that?" He tried to keep his tone flat, but he couldn't quite manage because he had messed up. Obviously he had done something wrong for Yukine, his precious hafuri, to think he would believe a kid he had known for less than a day over him.

The regalia threw his head up, a panicked expression on the teen's face. "No, Yato, it wasn't anything you did!" The shinki reached over to tug the collar of his scarf until he was at his kid's eye level. "You haven't done anything wrong." The shinki released him and he was left disoriented -he so needed a nap- because he hadn't expected such a passionate declaration.

He shrugged off how happy it made him to see Yukine consider his feelings -his kid really did like him!- since he still needed answers.

"Okay, it's nothing I've done, so it has to be something Yukime did, right?" He was certain without Yukine answering because he felt that spike of jealousy poking uncomfortably at his chest from the mere mention of the older regalia.

Yukine grumbled something under his breath, and Yato made a show of placing a hand near his ear and leaning forward. "Hm, what was that? You know I'm old, Yukine, and my hearing isn't what it used to be." He smirked when his kid sent him a glare at his antics, but he could tell his kid wasn't actually upset by them -his kid never really was.

Though the amusement passed quickly and soon his regalia slumped his shoulders and crossed his arms as if he were hugging himself. "I said he's been trying to replace me all day."

Yato narrowed his eyes, but kept his face neutral with only an edge of curiosity peeking though his mask. "What do you mean?"

Yukine frowned and his eyes burned with anger. "First he hung out with you this morning,"

Yato wouldn't have called Yukime's freak out session hanging out, but that was technically true so he let it pass.

"Then he helped Daikoku make breakfast and offered to do chores before I came downstairs,"

Okay, he hadn't known that. Then again, he had been taking a bath before coming downstairs to see Kofuku examining the two identical shinki.

"And he went with you on a job, made such a great impression on you that you got him ice cream,"

Ah, Yato was starting to see the kid's point. However unjustified it was, if another Yato had showed up and hung out with _his_ kid all day, even seemed to get along better with his kid than him, he would be a little jealous too.

"And I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but when Yukime was trying to get off that jacket, I saw that blood on his sling and asked him if he was alright. He said he was fine, that he was just tired from the ayakashi fight because it had been a while since anyone used him to fight ayakashi like you did!" Yukine was glaring at the wall behind Yato, hands balled tight at his sides and his fury paining Yato.

He took a second to gather his thoughts, then gently asked, "And that's when you got into a fight?"

Guilt made his kid grimace and the shinki sent him a pleading look. "I didn't meant to start it, but when he said you had used him to fight that ayakashi, I got upset and shoved him a little." The kid's tone became soft and quiet as shame ate away at his anger. "I didn't expect him to try to hit me with a borderline,"

No, Yukine wouldn't, but Yato understood. After everything Yukime had been through with his master, the kid was always on guard, and the poor kid had treated the littlest bit of physical contact as if it were under attack so an outright shove had no doubt sent Yukime's defensive instincts into overdrive. The kid probably hadn't even recognized Yukine so much as thought the younger regalia was his master in that moment.

"So I knocked him down but he kept trying to attack me, and his scarf came loose and I thought I saw a name but it didn't say Yuki-"

"And you figured Yukime was a nora and wanted to show me?"

"Yes," His kid held himself tighter. "But I just..." Those orange eyes implored him, professing innocence. "I just wanted to prove he wasn't as perfect as you and Kofuku and Daikoku thought, okay!"

His regalia's final declaration rang in the silence between them for a second. He allowed it to linger there, observing how ashamed and small -too small- his kid looked under the weight of his guilt. Yato didn't have to tell Yukine he had messed up, his child already knew, however, he clearly needed to remind him of one thing.

"Yukine," he stretched his hand and placed it upon the kid's soft blond hair. His kid didn't react, but he saw the shinki's lips tilt downwards into a wobbly frown, probably expecting the worse.

He smiled and gently ruffled the hair beneath his hand. "You're my hafuri, but that I doesn't mean I expect you to be perfect. Even I'm not perfect." He stopped his ruffling when Yukine raised his head the tiniest bit to reveal wide eyes. "And I don't expect you to be like anyone, not even like your alternate reality counterpart, because I named you. You're _my_ kid, and not even Yukime staying here forever could change that." He slid his hand down from his kid's hair to cup the shinki's cheek. He stopped the lone tear from falling down Yukine's eyes by catching it with his finger.

"I'm sorry, Yat-"

Kofuku poking her head in from the doorway interrupted the moment and Yato let his hand fall as he turned to her. Yet her eyes were locked onto Yukine's, a gasp escaping her as she took in his appearance.

"How did you get back in here so fast, Yukki?!"

Yukine blinked, frowning. "What?"

"I just saw you outside when I was watering my plants, I thought you had left." She tilted her head quizzically, missing how Yato and Yukine turned to each other, wearing twin expressions of horror.

Wordlessly, and paying no heed to Kofuku's startled exclamation, shinki and master ran upstairs.

The door to their room was closed but Yato threw it open and darted inside because Yukime had to be here. His kid couldn't -wouldn't- just run off. He came to a dead stop in the middle of the room and heard Yukine halt beside him. They both stared at the sling abandoned on the floor as dark gray clouds formed in the sky outside.

Yukime had ran away.

* * *

 **Wow, it's getting pretty crazy now, but trust me guys...this is just the beginning ;D**

 **Anyway, the next chapter will be up within a week, and I hope to see you all there because next chapter is when it all goes down! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay, but I've been swamped with homework lately. Thanks for all the support though!**

 **And special thanks to shishi for the scarf theory, which I chose to edit into this chapter :)**

* * *

The sky was darkening but the gray clouds hadn't rained on them yet. Yato was grateful it wasn't storming or it would make it that much harder to search. Daikoku and Kofuku had called to say Yukime was not near Suzuha's tree or Tenjin's shrine, but they were going to check other shrines in case he was hanging around them.

Yato was waiting outside the grocery store when Yukine walked out to join him, but he knew from the kid's expression he had found no sign of Yukime. He ran a hand down his weary face because he knew the kid was at least alive, but he sensed Yukime's emotional state was deteriorating fast. This was all his fault for not seeing the kid slip out the door -he had been too focused on Yukine- and for not explaining to Yukine why he was giving Yukime so much attention. Instead, he had been an idiot and left his kid feeling ignored and unwanted all day with him barely noticing.

"Where else should we check?" His shinki asked, shivering. Yato leaned over to zip the kid's jacket higher while mulling over what to say. It spoke volumes that Yukine didn't try to stop him, but simply eyed him in concern.

His mask must have been slipping and his exhaustion was more evident than he wanted, but at least his mental state was faring better. "You tell me."

Yukine appeared confused, but Yato carried on before he could voice a question. "Yukime is your counterpart and you've lived very similar lives, and that means you have the best chance of getting in his head." Perhaps he could literarily enter the kid's head, but he only knew how to see the kid's past memories -not current ones- and even then those had been accidental dives into Yukime's mind. "Where would you hide if you were in Yukime's place?"

Yukine shifted, clearly uncomfortable. "I don't know, he's a little different from me."

"Yukine," he reached over and gently tilted his kid's chin up until the shinki was facing him. "You're my hafuri, I know you can show me the way." He smiled and Yukine's lips parted as if he wanted to say something but soon his mouth snapped close. He let the kid's chin drop while Yukine blushed and stared at the ground. Good, embarrassment was a better emotion than the guilt his kid had been wadding through since their talk.

"Well," Yukine's cheeks were still pink, but he could make eye contact with him now. "If I wasn't at any of the places we've checked and I couldn't call any other gods' or shinki for help...I'd go to Hiyori." The regalia bit his lip. "But what if Yukime never met the Hiyori in his reality? What if he doesn't know her?"

"I got a feeling he does," He pulled out his phone and dialed Hiyori's number. "Why else would that vortex leave him the middle of Hiyori's house?"

His regalia appeared startled by the thought. "You think Yukime arrived there on purpose?"

"No," he listened to his phone ring, "But someone did, according to what I read about vents today." He wanted to explain how Other Kofuku was skilled in making alternate realities and that meant she must have known what she had been doing. Why she made that portal and why Other Yato brought his kid to her that night, he hadn't figured out yet.

"Yato?" Hiyori's soft greeting chimed over through the phone. "Is something wrong?" She drawled out each word like she was distracted by something.

"Have you seen Yukine?" He asked because there was no time to explain alternate realities. "He's been missing for over an hour." He was dreading the answer because if Yukime wasn't there, the kid could be out all night and injured the way he was, would be easy prey for one of the bigger ayakashi.

There was no response and he heard Hiyori pull away to talk to someone, but her words were too quiet to make out.

"Hiyori?" His concern shifted to her because she had sounded oddly hesitant but she was always assertive when it came to him. "What's wrong?"

"Um, nothing," her voice was higher than normal so now he knew something was up. "I'm tired is all because a friend suddenly showed up...said she had a fight with her father."

Yato's eyes widened as he understood what Hiyori was trying to tell him. Yukime must have asked her to keep quiet about him being in her house. He nodded at Yukine and his kid neared him, prepared to teleport.

"It's more complicated than that. Is he in the room with you?" He needed to know if he had to be on guard.

Hiyori hummed in agreement and Yukine grabbed his arm before they teleported into the girl's room.

He caught sight of Hiyori perched on her bed. Her pink eyes doubled in size as they took in Yukine's appearance then swiveled back to the teen resting his head in her lap and nestled under a blanket. She had been running her fingers through Yukime's hair but now her hands flew up to muffle her gasp and she nearly dropped her phone.

Yato desperately gestured for her to keep up appearances.

The girl resumed running her hands through Yukime's hair though she was clearly tense. "I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight." She hung up the phone and Yukine took a step forward.

The floor creaked.

Yukime shot up, cover falling off, and zeroed in on them. His heart burned as the kid's terror hit him.

"Yukime," he reached out to his panicking kid.

"Borderline!" The two shinki cried out as they attacked at same time yet Yukime's borderline cut through Yukine's and hit his target.

His kid collapsed onto his knees with a cry.

"Yukine!" He dropped beside his kid while Yukime fled into the hall, but he didn't care because his kid was hurt! The regalia was clutching the side of his body where his jacket had been cut clean through and a line of blood was already soaking the white fabric.

Outside, rain began pattering against the window.

"Kid, hold on!" He tried to pull Yukine's hands away but his kid swatted at his arm, mouth twisted in a severe frown.

"I'm fine!" Yukine met his eyes, determination making the orange burn like embers. "Go after him!"

Yato shook his head, the kid was being ridiculous, he couldn't - _wouldn't!-_ leave his injured child behind.

"It's okay," Hiyori joined them on the floor, blanket in her hand as she pulled Yukine's hands away to press the cloth to the younger teen's wound. "I'll take care of him."

Yato still hesitated, but the terror assaulting him was unyielding and he sensed Yukine getting angry enough to yell at him if he didn't get a move on.

He reluctantly got up. "I'll be right back!" He called over his shoulder as he ran out to the hall.

No one was there so he looked down the stairs and saw the front door was ajar. He rushed down and sprinted outside.

Yukime was hurrying down the sidewalk, but the kid was clutching his arm and it was obvious the regalia regretted removing his sling. Yato narrowed his eyes and practically teleported behind the kid, catching him by his hood.

Yukime gasped and tried to throw another borderline, but he caught his arm. "Stop it, Yukime."

The kid was boiling over with fear, yet he mustered up a spiteful glare. "Don't tell me what to do! You're not my master!" The regalia tried to pry his hand free but his injured arm couldn't do more than push away from Yato's chest.

"Great!" His own anger knotted up inside him, not at the kid, but at Other Yato. "I don't want to be anything like that monster!"

"As if you're any different!" The shinki's voice was full of hurt and those orange eyes were sharp with accusation. He was taken aback by Yukime's vehemence because Yukine's face had never looked at him this way and it made his insides squirm.

Yukime tried again to free his hand but the energy behind the attempt was feeble. "I heard what you said. You're trying to force me to stay here and I already told you I want to go home." The regalia stopped and his expression became broken, and it hurt because Yukime felt betrayed by him and that meant he really had endeared the kid to himself.

And Yato had broken that trust.

"You said you would get me home."

 _"You liar"_ was unspoken yet that was a stab to the heart and his hand dropped from his regalia's wrist. "I wasn't lying, I did plan to take you home. I _still_ plan to take you to a real home," His expression darkened and he sensed the shinki's trepidation. "But I will never take you back to your reality, return you to such a master."

His kid cowered like he were under attack, his eyes glazed over, and his lips parted. He didn't know what the kid was thinking, but doubted they were happy thoughts, which was why he was shocked when Yukime resurfaced to narrow his eyes at him.

"I don't know exactly what you saw in my head," The speech surprised Yato because he had assumed those memories were being shown to him because the kid was thinking about them at the time. Apparently he had more power in the regalia's head than he had thought if it had been his own desire leading him to those specific memories.

"But you've got the wrong idea." The kid spoke firmly, and Yato loved that the shinki wasn't a cowering mess before him but couldn't appreciate the assertiveness on this particular subject.

"So you're telling me it wasn't your master that forced you to become a nora?" His eyes were starting to glow with an inner flame as he recalled Yukime's suffering and the beast within growled.

Yukime grasped his scarf, seeking comfort, and his gaze dropped. "That...that wasn't his fault." His voice went quiet and meek. "I know he didn't mean to."

His eyes dimmed and the blue darkened in pity because the poor kid really believed that. The kid was defending his master, making excuses for that monster, and in denial despite all he been through. Yato didn't want to think it, but suddenly he wondered if Yukine were in Yukime's place would his kid do the same? Cling to a monster of a master out of loyalty?

Lightning struck in the distance as thunder roared.

Yato gasped as Yukime's terror spiked yet he couldn't double over before a bundle of kid flew into his arms.

"No, no, no, no-" Yukime muttered into his neck, burrowing himself into his chest and arm scrambling to wrap around Yato.

He blinked away the rain dripping down his face as he observed the regalia in confusion. The kid was trembling all over and refusing to look up while he continued his mantra of "no".

Lightning flashed above and Yukime practically screamed as he shivered in Yato's arms and now he understood. He gazed into the sky as the rain pelted his face and recognized the irony that Yukine feared the darkness like Yukime feared the lightning.

"It's okay, kid," he wrapped his arms as tightly as he dared -thinking of the kid's injury- around the shinki. "The lightning won't hurt you."

"But it did," Yukime wailed, raising his face towards Yato with water from rain or tears pouring down his cheeks. "It killed me."

Yato's heart stuttered and he could do little more than stare wide-eyed at Yukime, but the kid had already hidden his face in his fluffy scarf while thunder clapped overhead.

The kid knew.

Yukime _knew_ how he had died.

Yato clutched his kid a little harder as the rain soaked his hair because he may have decided to keep Yukime, but he still had a lot to learn about the kid and this was going to be even more complicated than he thought.

* * *

The rain had lessened though the sky was still dark as they sat on the steps of a nearby shrine. They had left Hiyori's place with the girl perplexed by many questions, which Yato promised to answer tomorrow. Hence, his shinki left with medical supplies from the Iki household while he left with a bruised cheek because Hiyori wanted to be told about problems like this so she could help him, and apparently the bruising was his reminder to not leave Hiyori -crazy woman- out of things ever again.

His head throbbed, drawing him out of his thoughts, and he rubbed it before continuing to fix the sling upon Yukime's arm from his seat beside the regalia. Yukime clenched his teeth despite how Yato had gave him a dose of painkillers before fixing the sling back on, but it seemed they had yet to kick in.

"There!" He smiled and released Yukime's arm. "All better now!"

The regalia didn't answer or even bother to lift his gaze from a puddle on the concrete steps. The kid had instantly drawn away once the lightning had passed and been this way since then.

He frowned, false cheer fading in face of Yukime's despair. The kid was hunched over, pale hands piled in his lap, and it wasn't rain water moistening those eyes. The kid looked crushed, defeated, and Yato knew it was his fault. He had done this to the kid.

The shinki's inner agony was obvious without being able to sense his emotions, for even Yukine was giving his counterpart a pitying look.

Yato sighed and it felt like all the energy he had was in that release of oxygen because suddenly he couldn't keep his head up from under the weight of everything.

"Don't you realize I'm only trying to help you?" A part of him wanted to shake sense into the kid, but the shinki looked so fragile he wasn't willing to do so.

Yukime didn't move though he sensed the barest hint of anger and resentment peek through the kid's sadness. The kid was apparently determined to give him the silent treatment, and considering they might be with each other for centuries, this needed to be rectified soon because he had no doubt the kid could keep this up for a while.

"Don't you like living here?" Yukine asked abruptly, fists clenching while Yukime warily regarded him. "How could you possibly want to go back there?"

Yukime blinked slowly, as if it were a struggle to do even that, and then returned his gaze to the puddle where his reflection stared back at him. "You're wrong about him," he was sure all three of them were surprised by the soft-spoken words. "My master doesn't mean to hurt me." A single tear rolled down the regalia's face and Yato wanted to hug him but doubted it would be well-received.

Yukine was less than impressed and outright scowled while his fists clenched tighter. "But he makes you hurt people! And he gave you away like-like you were some tool!" It seemed like Yukine wanted to shake sense into the kid too, and while he didn't entirely approve of the tough love approach, he knew his kid meant well so saw no reason to intervene.

Yukime's head remained bowed and his shoulders lowered. "It doesn't matter what I want or what I miss," the kid's whole body drooped as an unseen burden sapped his strength. "I have to go home, my master needs me," his voice wobbled as he met Yato's eyes for the first time and it was painful to see the desperation in them. "Please, please help me get home!"

 _"H-Help me, Yato!"_

The kid's call for help resounded in his head and he didn't know what to do because he didn't want to be like Other Yato, didn't want to outright ignore Yukime's pleading, yet he could not listen to the kid's request. He couldn't live with himself if he sent the kid back to that life.

"You must really care about him." Yukine frowned, yet it was more thoughtful than disapproving as he assessed his fellow shinki.

Yukime nodded, eyes crinkling like he was on the verge of crying. "When Kazumu went missing and Bishamon blamed us," he and Yukine blinked at the twist to their history, "I was willing to sacrifice my name to protect my Yato. Why would I do that if I didn't think he cared?" The regalia was breathing deep and fast. A look was being shared between the shinki, a look Yato felt only one blessed regalia to another could understand.

"That doesn't prove anything," Yato reluctantly cut in. "It just means your master wasn't always a monster."

Yukime dwindled before his eyes, but Yukine scooted closer to the teen and the silent support was clear. "I think you should hear him out, Yato."

He blinked since he hadn't expected Yukine to take the shinki's side, and he wanted to ask if he was going crazy or the whole world had, but he caught sight of the grain of hope shimmering in Yukime's eyes and the fight left him.

"Fine," he tried to grin yet doubted he did more than grimace less. "If you want me to get you home, prove to me I'm wrong. Show me evidence I won't be sending you somewhere terrible."

Both his kids were stunned at how easily he rolled over, but Yukime perked up quickly and he could tell he was mulling over what to do. Though it wasn't long before the kid came to a decision.

"I can show you a memory!" The regalia straightened and was almost smiling.

Yato tilted his head. "You can do that?"

Surprise flashed on Yukime's face, then understanding. "That's how it's normally done. A master asks for permission and if the shinki agrees, the god can look at their memory."

"But gods don't have to, don't _need_ to ask for permission to see a shinki's memories?" He hoped the answer would explain that icky feeling he got whenever he peered into the kid's head without asking. He had never meant to, but it always felt awfully wrong when he had.

Yukime frowned and a dark look passed over his face. "No, they don't need to, but forcing their way into a shinki's head when we don't want them there could lead to some severe blighting." His kid noticed his shock, for he added, "I never actually tried to stop you, I know you didn't mean to look into my memories."

Yato felt his guilt strangle him because sure he hadn't meant to see the kid's memories, but he certainly hadn't fought to stay out of the regalia's head either. All the while the poor kid had to endure an invasion of privacy repeatedly yet the kid did endure because he didn't want to hurt Yato, and that, that touched him.

"Okay, kid," his voice was light and he succeeded in smiling, "Show me something nice for a change."

Yukime actually smiled a little as he closed his eyes and Yato did his best to concentrate on the kid while trying to imagine what he would be seeing this time.

Lightning struck him -that made sense now- and Yato drifted into the shinki's head more gently than he ever had and he swore he felt something like a hand grasping his and guiding him through the darkness.

He was surprised when he was stopped and before him there was so much light on a scene Yato felt less like he was watching a play and more so like watching a big screen movie.

"I know this place..." He squinted at the shot of Yukime sitting on the concrete steps of what had to be Other Bishamon's place in Takamagahara. It was identical to her place in every way.

Yukime wasn't smiling and the kid looked so small as he sat there hugging his knees and staring at nothing in particular ahead. He spotted a few kanji letters sticking out from under the regalia's t-shirt and knew this memory had to take place after he became a nora, so what was the kid doing here?

He considered the possibility Other Bishamon was like his counterpart and he knew that bimbo was already psychotic enough in his reality, he didn't want to picture an actual insane version of her.

Other Yato suddenly teleported in front of Yukime and the kid leapt into a stand with wide eyes. The shinki turned as if to run, but Other Yato reached him first.

"Wait, it's me, kid!" Other Yato looked frazzled in a manner that he had never seen before. As psychotic as his other self was, the god had always seemed calm and in control whenever he appeared.

Yukime paused, then slowly inched around, and he couldn't see Other Yato's face but he knew Yukime was staring his other self in the eyes.

"Yato!" He blinked when the kid flung himself forward and grasped his master with all his might. "I can't believe it," the regalia sounded so awed, "It's been so long I-I thought I'd never see you again!"

Other Yato wasn't hugging his kid back and he hated how that made more sense to him than Yukime's reaction to this monster. However, the regalia didn't realize anything was wrong until his master suddenly reached up to the shinki's back and his master's fingertips brushed over the newest name.

"Don't!" Yukime leapt back, slapping a hand over the mark, but Other Yato caught his free arm.

"Show me." Other Yato's voice went cold and he saw the fear creeping onto Yukime's expression. He was starting to wonder how this was a happy memory or if his kid's life was so messed up this was the happiest memory he had.

"Yato-"

"I need to." Other Yato whispered and he dare say the god pleaded. What was happening here? Was his other self so sadistic he wanted to see his own handiwork?

He sensed he was missing something as Yukime reluctantly released his hand and Other Yato approached him from behind. His master lowered the shirt collar and stared down the kanji letters. Yukime hardly moved except to wring his hands nervously while his god said nothing.

Suddenly Other Yato zipped open his jacket and Yato was surprised to see he was wearing a familiar blue scarf under there. He was as speechless as Yukime was when the god loosened the cloth and then threw it around his kid's neck, wrapping the cloth snugly and effectively covering the marks.

"Yato?" Yukime turned back as much as he could, eyes fluttering like he had no idea what was happening.

"I have to go." Yato pulled out his phone, but Yukime spun around and threw himself into his master's embrace.

"No, you're not safe down there without me! Take me back!" The shinki pressed himself into Other Yato's chest.

Yet his master forced him back until he was at arm's length. "I'll live, but I can't..." The god grasped his head like it pained him. Yukime looked at him with such concern, concern this guy didn't deserve.

"I'm sorry," Other Yato jerked up. "I'll be back!" The flurry of speech was so quick Yato could barely grasp it before Other Yato shoved his kid away and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Yukime tossed his arms out as if to catch Other Yato or steady himself, but soon the shinki lowered them and his eyes shined with unshed tears.

Alone, Yukime hands moved up to grasp the blue scarf around his neck and he peered up into the sky.

Yato watched the light dim on the shot until the memory was eclipsed by darkness. The sensation of a hand grasped his arm and guided him up at a leisurely pace until he returned to reality by simply opening his eyes. Yukime was giving him a timid hopeful look, and it hurt because it wouldn't last long.

"Kid," he saw the shinki's eyes dim at his grim tone. "All that proved is that your master is either bipolar or has some sort of split personality disorder."

The hope died entirely on Yukime's face and the mad desperation returned. "No, he's not crazy! He doesn't mean to hurt me, didn't you see? He felt bad about what happened!" The kid leaned forward but Yukine caught his shoulder, probably fearing his other self was losing control.

"And he should," Yato sensed his eyes lighting up as he scowled. "What he did was horrible, Yukime, and maybe he felt bad about it, but he shouldn't have done those things to you in the first place!"

The kid shook his head, denying the accusation soundlessly and he felt himself on the verge of snapping.

"So what if he isn't always an abusive god of calamity," Yato pinched the bridge of his nose. "He still hurt you before and he will do it again. I won't send you back to-"

"Shut up!" Yukime launched himself at him but Yukine wrapped his arms around the teen's torso and prevented him from reaching him. "You're wrong, he cares about me! He does! He does!" The kid struggled so hard Yato reached over to hold his shoulders because he was worried the kid was going to aggravate his arm again.

"Kid-"

"Please!" The tears broke free on Yukime's face as he continued struggling despite how Yato and Yukine held him in place. "I can't abandon him! I won't leave him all alone!"

He wanted to calm the kid, wanted to reassure him, but Yukime was inconsolable and no longer hearing him or Yukine out as he sobbed. This was awful, he knew the kid was in agony of the likes he had never sensed before from him and it was his fault.

Yet he was angry too, at the injustice. Other Yato didn't deserve such loyalty or such love -the adoration of a son looking up to his father- from Yukime. Perhaps this bothered him because the kid reminded him far too much of himself in his younger years.

The world exploded into red as a vent broke out between them. He heard his own cry of shock mix with his kids' but he couldn't see, the light was too bright, and the wind had lifted him into the air.

"Yukine! Yukime!" He squinted against the roaring wind and light but then they disappeared and he was dropped onto the concrete ground. He couldn't catch his breath before another body landed across his and he wheezed out what little air he had left.

"Y-Yato?"

The body scrambled off of him and then a hand was pulling him up while he blinked until he could see Yukine's worried expression as the shinki crouched on his knees beside him.

"Where's Yukime?" He hurriedly stood up and twisted around because his other kid was gone and please tell him the vortex hadn't taken him back to his reality, to that life! He had been so close to saving-

Yato stared into his reflection and it took him a second to realize that his reflection was holding Yukime against his side and this was no reflection.

Other Yato was staring down at Yukime who was tucked against the god's side far too hard -his injured arm was being crushed- if the pained expression on the shinki's face said anything. "You would not believe how hard it was to find you, kiddo!"

Yukine gasped sharply next to him and Other Yato's head snapped up immediately to stare at them and as their faces met for the first time, Yato knew something was wrong. Suddenly Yukime's fixation on his eyes made perfect sense and he had to be wrong, there was no way. Yet he knew those eyes.

"Why Yaboku, how nice to see you again!" Red eyes twinkled in amusement. "Or is it see me? It's been so confusing since I started possessing this body."

Other Yato had his face, but that person inside was not him, was no god, but was Father. Yato could always recognize his father, no matter the body, he always knew and that was his father -Other Father- possessing his other self's body.

Yato's mind went blank and spilled over with thoughts at the same time because how had he missed this?!

That creepy way Other Yato acted, the teasing way he spoke while doing horrible things, that was just like Father! The fact he turned Yukime into a Nora and used him to kill, that had all been Father's standard moves.

" _I am a god of calamity."_

" _No… You're not."_

 _"But he's not you."_ Yukime had blatantly told him his master wasn't like himself, but he had thought the kid meant not like him in personality, not a whole other person possessing his body!

 _"Nothing has really changed, you'll see."_ Other Yato hadn't said this, his other father must have been talking about how he had possessed Other Yato. No wonder Yukime had been crying, his father had taken his master hostage.

 _"And you know how worried your master gets when you don't eat_." Other Yato hadn't been talking in third person, Other Father had literarily been telling Yukime that Yato was worried about him somewhere deep inside that body. Perhaps because he was a god, the possession wasn't complete and Other Yato was still in there, just dormant.

No wonder Yukime had been so back and forth about his feelings for his master, he had been talking about _two_ people in one body the whole time!

"Do you recognize me Yaboku?" Other Yato -no, Other Father- tilted his head curiously at him and it was horrible because he was staring into a mirror but what looked back at him was no reflection. His father's eyes were in his face and it was horrendous.

Other Father smirked. "I can tell you do, but you don't look happy to see me." He pouted as if this hurt him and it was wrong, so wrong on his face. "Guess you're a little rebel in this reality too."

"Let go!" Yukime renewed his attempts to pull away, and he sensed the fear in the regalia because this was the source of the kid's nightmares. The reason the kid was always so afraid, and he got it now, his own Father was more than a little terrifying.

"I'd love to chat, but I gotta get my kid, or my kid's kid home," Other Father tapped his face in thought. "I guess my grandson...doesn't matter!" He said it all good naturedly, but no one was fooled. "I need to get home. Lots of work has piled up since Yaboku sent Yukime to this reality. I have to give him props, I really didn't see that coming." Other Father sounded genuinely proud.

Yukime started and looked up. "Yato...was trying to save me?"

This surprised him as well, yet he had been suspecting as much for a while. That lie Yukime had blighted him with after he first arrived was the kid refusing to admit that his master had pushed him into the vent. The kid hadn't fallen, his master had planned for this all along.

"Yato!" Yukime's concerned call brought him to the present but the kid was looking at Other Father, who was clutching his head and groaning. Yukime was released yet hovered over the god until abruptly Other Father shoved him away.

Yato lurched forward and caught the kid, quickly righting him while Yukine stood behind them by the bottom of the staircase.

"Release...him..."

The quiet and strained request had Yato gaping at his other self because the god's eyes were blue, his blue, and that was the real him -his real other self.

"Please," Other Yato's arms were shaking and one of his eyes remained shut as he struggled against the pain he was in. "Release Yukime!" The god could say no more as he fell to his knees, clutching his head like he was enduring the worst migraine.

Finally Yato knew why Yukime had been sent here. Other Yato wanted him to release Yukime, to do what he couldn't while under his father's control. No wonder he had Other Kofuku send his kid right in front of him, he needed another version of himself who named his regalia Yuki so the bond from Yukime could transfer over to him. Like Yukine said, if he could summon Yukime that meant he had the power to release him as well.

He stared down at the shinki in his arms and Yukime looked up at him, the same thoughts having already occurred to him. The regalia shook his head, not liking the considering look on Yato's face because the kid didn't want to be released but it might be the only way to save him. If he did, he could send Yukime back without worry that Other Father would use him again. Now that he thought of it, keeping Yukime in his reality would only mean his father would have another shinki to target. The concept of releasing Yukime only became more appealing.

"Don't you dare!" Yukime stepped away from him, fear and indignation warring inside him while Yukine looked back and forth between them as if uncertain what to do. No doubt Yukine recalled Yato's own attempts to push him away in his efforts to protect the kid because all Yato ever did was bring pain and misery to those he loved. Yet Yukine was insistent on staying and it seemed Yukime was just as stubborn.

"Yaboku,"

He flinched when he saw those red eyes were trained on him, and it was clear Other Father was back and was not pleased. "Give me back Yukime so we can be on our way." His lips were smiling but his eyes were glowing unnaturally.

Yato didn't know what to do. The kid didn't want to be released but his master wanted Yato to release him and Other Father wouldn't leave without Yukime and he had enough problems without having two Fathers running around in his reality.

He did the only thing he could and raised his hand to call Yukine.

"You really think you can summon your shinki faster than me." Other Father smirked, copying his movement, and he paused as an idea crashed into him.

"Sekki!"

Other Father shouted the same thing and Yukime obediently transformed.

Into Yato's hands.

Other Father actually looked surprised when Yato held the katanas in a defensive position, though he was prepared to switch to offensive if the need arose. However, right now he was focused on buying time until he could decide what to do.

Yet Other Father soon recovered and already his lips had curled up in a smirk. "Nice try, Yaboku, but when it comes to a battle of wills," Other Father called again and Yato braced himself to withstand any attempt to pull Yukime away.

A scream broke out behind him and his eyes widened because that was Yukine, his kid, his kid was _screaming_ yet in a flash Other Father was holding those katanas -his kid!- in front of him.

A series of identical cries of shock and pain and despair came out from both shinki and their emotions were so painful he gagged on them and he was choking because his kid was terrified and horrified and he was sick because it was his worst nightmare.

"Yato!"

The nightmare became a night terror as Other Father flew at him and his kid was sliced down upon his head.

* * *

 **Bravo to all the people who suspected Other Father was the reason Other Yato was such a monster, though I doubt any of you imagined he was doing so in this way. Poor Other Yato, but especially poor Yukine. The kid is going to need therapy after this :[**

 **Anyway, I'll try to update in a week but I've got like two midterm papers to write so it might take a little longer.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the longer than usual wait, midterms set me behind schedule, but here's the final chapter! Thanks for all you guys that stuck out till the end!**

* * *

Metal clashed on metal, master against master.

Yato could tell they were both dull as he held the katanas above his head and braced against the brute strength pressing down on him. However, he could not recognize the smirk on Other Father or his own trembling arms because his kids were screaming, screaming, screaming. His face was wet but he couldn't recall crying, or perhaps the sky was crying again, but none of it mattered -he didn't matter- because Yukine was hurting screaming breaking and he was being assaulted on all fronts.

Everything burned, his heart was a scorched war zone, mind aflame with their united suffering and body sinking under the weight of it all.

Yet Other Father was no worst for wear as he abruptly broke away, causing Yato to overbalance forward and leave his arms exposed. He did not feel himself get cut so much as was stung by Yukine's guilt and a stream of sobbed apologizes deafened him right after. It took all Yato had to pull up in a defensive position while his other father went for another strike and then they were locked in battle again, but Father had the upper hand because his father was used to hearing the pleas of the innocent and carrying on without mercy so Yukine's cries were treated no differently.

However, he had never been so successfully at ignoring his conscious and he was barely keeping down his breakfast while his chest seemed to cave in from the sheer force of emotions he was carrying. If this was anything like Bishamon felt as she fought him and her shinki blighted her over and over, no wonder she had been ready to accept reincarnation.

"Stop this!" Yato grunted while he was forced back and his boots slid on the muddy surface but he wasn't sure who he was addressing. His other father, his shinki, perhaps even his other self. He just wanted it to stop, please, all of it just stop!

Other Father's lips hitched up on one side into a sharp, playful grin. "I'm only being fair, Yaboku,"

He hated hearing his own voice say that name like he had accepted it, as if it were all Yato was -a god of calamity.

"You took my regalia so I took yours." Other Father's eyes purposely glanced at the katanas he was forcibly wielding. "Then again I wouldn't mind trading, it might be fun going through the teaching process all over again."

Yato could not tell who was more horrified at the prospect, him or Yukine, who he saw even now was shaking in his father's hands as if attempting to escape Other Father's grip or hold back from hurting Yato.

"-don't want to do this!"

"Don't hurt him, he's not in control-"

Yato allowed his arms to drop and jerked to the side so Other Father overreached. He hastily leapt away and landed higher on the steps while Father righted himself. "Yukime, calm down," he whispered while awaiting the next attack though his other father seemed to be content with allowing him a brief respite for now. "I can't handle your emotions and Yukine's, it's too much." He wanted to take back the words when he heard how pathetically desperate they sounded like and he sensed Yukime's guilt, but then the emotions petered down and he was too grateful to care that his mask was slipping.

"You know," There was zero tension in Other Father's features, he was no doubt toying with Yato, and that was why he ignored his other father because he didn't want to play his games. He wanted it to stop. He wanted his kid back. He wanted Yukine to be free of such misery and it was all his fault this happened in the first place. He should have known if Other Yato's shinki could be called by him then vice versa was true as well.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Yaboku." Other Father had taken a step up the staircase and his red eyes were trained on his and he didn't think his father had ever looked so ill-suited for a body until now.

His own face gave him a pitying look though the sharpness to Father's eyes gave away Other Father's true intentions. "Don't you hear your kid crying?" Other Father ascended at a leisurely pace, drawing out Yato's pain. "Don't you hear his desperate thoughts? He's hurt so badly and it's all your fault, hurting another one of your shinki again, Yaboku." Father stopped a mere foot away and held those katanas -his kid, his kid!- in front of himself with a loose enough hold that Yato could see them shaking. He knew his kid was fighting yet he could hear Yukine's wails and sensed every sliver of emotion slipping out of him to drown Yato until he was buried under an ocean of misery.

Father was right. Why did he always have to be right? This wasn't even his actual father and yet he knew him so well, knew he was Yaboku, god of calamity, destined to bring ruin upon the innocent and destroy those he-

"Let me go, Yato."

He was startled when Yukime, who was now a refreshing oasis of controlled emotions, spoke up.

"Father won't stop until he has me, so just let me go."

He hated how resigned the kid was, but then again, hadn't he been starting to accept his father's lies as truth a second ago?

"If you don't he'll wear you out and take me anyway. He might even take Yukine too,"

Terror that was all his own struck his heart because he wouldn't let his own father have his kid and Other Father was far worse, for this monster didn't even give Other Yato the illusion of freedom like his own did, the control was total.

"So revert me and get it over with."

"Have you chosen?" Other Father was close, within striking distance, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't attack his kid and Other Yato's body would be hurt too when he was merely a victim like the rest of them.

Suddenly Father stretched out his arms and the katanas were so close, so, so close! "Let's trade and go our separate ways." Yato's heart bested in earnest because his kid was right there yet he hesitated and Father cocked an eyebrow. "Or I can just leave, I only need one blessed regalia after all."

He pulled back and Yato couldn't stop himself from running forward to strike because he couldn't let him have Yukine, that was his kid!

"Don't!" Yukime fought his will and Other Father easily shifted aside and avoided his clumsy attack but father was quick to punish by bringing his own weapons down upon Yato's back.

He tried to avoid it by leaping down the stairs but he felt metal scrape into him and the blood and the water were seeping through his jacket as he landed on the bottom steps. Then he sensed Yukine's guilt and he dropped to one knee because it struck him like a hot poker and he could swear something inside himself was broken.

He thought Father was speaking above him but he couldn't listen to him because he could only hear his heartbeat punching his chest cavity as if to break out and Yukime was screaming such earnest apologies and it was too much, too much, all of it was too much.

"I'm sorry," Yukime's guilt was thankfully trimmed down by the shinki but still pinched his insides. "I shouldn't have-"

"Yukime," he shakily got into a stand and in a soft whisper said, "Tell me what can stop this." He heard the regalia gasp in confusion. "You're not just your master's hafuri, you're my hafuri, so guide me!" He had to heave in a breath after that because he was panting and his throat was on fire because it all hurt.

"Revert me."

Yato sighed, and would have ran a hand down his face if he had a free hand. "I'm not giving you back to Fath-"

"No," Yukime cut in. "I mean, I'm not sure it will work, but sometimes my master came out when I was in trouble. He's already near the surface if we've already seen him tonight, so maybe he just needs a pu-"

Father sped down to them, no longer willing to negotiate, and Yato hurried to revert his kid, hoping his faith was not misplaced as Yukime appeared.

Directly in path of the weapons being swung and Yato instinctively reached out as Yukine screamed a warning because the katanas weren't stopping as Yukime swiveled around to face the attack head on.

Father froze.

Those eyes drained of red and filled with blue and the katanas -his kid!- were dropped onto the floor.

"Yato!" Yukime ran to his master, who was clutching his head and had fallen onto his back on the dirt ground.

Yato did not witness anymore because his kid was crying so he hurried to grasp those katanas because his kid needed him and Yukine's pain was insurmountable and how could Yato have let this happen?

"K-Kill..."

Other Yato's voice was hardly audible above the pouring rain. He turned to see Yukime was helping the god sit up but Other Yato was sagging bonelessly in his arms and those blue eyes were dull yet the pupils were focused on Yato's face. "Kill me."

His lips parted and he gave a surprised huff, but soon his eyes widened because he knew himself and thus he knew that look on Other Yato's face. The god was serious. He wanted death.

"No!" Yukime wound his arms around his master's thin middle but Yato couldn't tell if the kid was comforting his god or shielding Other Yato from him. Him who had an already traumatized kid in his hands and even if he was willing to kill his other self he would never use Yukine, especially in the precarious state his hafuri was in, to do the deed.

"Please..." Other Yato was grinding his teeth and trembling all over as he fought for his every action. "Take care of...Yuki-" The god cried out and grasped his head and Yato knew they were running out of time. So he would make more time.

He lunged forward, elbowed Yukime away, and ignored the shinki's startled cries as he stabbed the katanas through Other Yato's sleeves. "Be strong, Yukine!" He hated having to do this, he wanted to revert his kid back already and hold him and tell him it would be alright. He hated seeing his other self practically writhe on the muddy earth like a mere worm while his eyes flickered from blue to red. He hated Other Father most all though and the beast inside himself hoped his insane plan ended up killing that bastard.

"What are you-"

"Sekki!" He called and Yukime transformed though he sensed the regalia's reluctance to leave his master vulnerable and general wariness as well but there was no time to explain.

"I have an idea." Yato raised the katanas before him as the blue of Other Yato's eyes was nearly eclipsed by the red. "It might save your master, but it won't work unless you trust me, and if you don't trust me, I might kill him by accident." His voice was as cold as his body was under the pouring raining. Yet Other Yato wasn't complaining about the elements, he was fighting, so Yato would fight too. "Trust me, Yukime!" He sensed the kid was on the fence, tipping towards Yato's favor but not quite there, however, Other Father was blinking back into awareness and it was now or never.

"Yabo...ku..." Other Father was trying to rise but the katanas pinned him in place and he had no more time. Yukime had no more time. This was it.

"Trust me, trust Yato!" He dashed forward towards the bonds surrounding Other Yato like a noose around his neck, the leash keeping father and son tied together in one body. The bonds he had never been able to free himself from in his reality, but for Other Yato, he would try.

"Keep him still, Yukine!"

He sliced at the bonds by Other Yato's neck and his eyes met Other Father's who was destroying his tracksuit in his struggle to rise. Yato would have basked at the sight of shock and horror in his father's expression but he needed to have all his focus zeroed on the bonds only he could see.

"Stop!" The sleeves were shredded as Other Father flew up halfway.

He cut into the bonds and the strength from Yukime was unbridled so the chains shrieked before they split in two.

The world exploded.

Yato's flew back, barely holding on to the katanas as a release like that of a bomb went off and a red storm surrounded them much like a vent would, but Other Yato was in the eye of this storm, body floating in the air above the katanas still trapped in the earth. He squinted against the wind, not able to hear Yukime's concerned calls above the roar, but he made out something like a dark shadow leave Other Yato and he knew he hadn't killed Other Father -he knew it could not be that easy- but that hadn't been his priority anyway.

In a final whoosh, the red air billowed past him and then it was gone as if it had never been here.

"Revert, Yuki!" He hadn't actually aimed the order at a specific kid and maybe that was why they both transformed at the same time. Yukine arrived with his back to him and he ran forward but Yukime scurried ahead and fell to his knees besides the prone body at Yukine's feet.

"Yato! Yato!" Yukime cupped his master's face, tears trickling down his own as he started into Other Yato's unseeing blue eyes. "Yatooo!" He wailed as Yato stopped behind him, peering down at the lifeless body with a disquieted feeling because that was his body and he looked so dead.

Yet surely he wasn't. Those were bonds he saw in the air, and his speciality was cutting bonds like those so surely he hadn't been wrong. A voice in his head that sounded eerily like Father reminded him he brought ruin to everyone and Yaboku was his true name.

He couldn't disagree as Yukime's unshed tears pooled under his eyes until the dam broke and then rivers came down because Other Yato's chest was unmoving.

Until air filled Other Yato's lungs so abruptly it seemed to pain the god and his eyelids popped apart but were already closing. Yukime moved his hands to tug at his master's tracksuit collar. "Yato!"

"...Yukime..." Other Yato closed his eyes but Yukime collapsed onto his chest as he enveloped his master and Yato caught the grin on the kid's face and knew he would be alright .

He could not feel more than relief though before Yukine fell into his arms and he felt the kid shaking and heard the sniffles.

"Yato!" His child wailed into his chest and he held him close and shushed away the apologies because it was not his fault. Yet his kid was freezing so Yato promised to hold him until the clouds parted and the light broke through the clouds.

* * *

Yukime was asleep with a smile on his face and Yato marveled at the tiny curving of his lips because this was what a kid should always look like in their sleep. Not troubled, not old, but like this. The shinki was grasping Other Yato's arm as he slept by his master's side on the futon.

Yato would have thought it funny that Yukine was doing a similar thing as he held his kid in his arms while resting against the wall beside the futon, but even in sleep Yukine looked troubled. He should also be asleep, but Yukine had been a mess, sputtering apologies and sobs wracking his frame, and Yato was so grateful that Daikoku and Kofuku were there to help Yukime and his other self get settled because Yukine had needed him. Truthfully, the kid would probably be messed up for a while. He laid a gentle hand on Yukine's soft hair, wishing he could brush away the guilt that plagued the teen no matter how Yato assured him.

The soft thump of a hand hitting the wooden floor made him look up to see dazed blue eyes meeting his bright ones. Other Yato appeared exhausted, in a way much different from his own exhaustion. He may have gotten no sleep for the past two days but his other self was so worn out he didn't bother pulling his hand back under the covers. Other Father had been so confident and carried himself so easily he hadn't noticed his other self looked so pale, perhaps thinner too because his collar bone was more pronounced than his own. It seemed the forced possession of his body had done serious damage to it, and that wasn't even counting the emotional toil.

"I'm sorry," Other Yato's voice was the thin whisper of man on his death bed. It was awful hearing his own voice sound so devoid of life, but considering this was the first time he was hearing Other Yato talk freely without Other Father's interference, he didn't have the heart to shush him even though it sounded like the god was in desperate need of rest. "I didn't know this would happen, that Father would do that to your kid."

Yato shook his head, leaning forward slowly so as not to awaken the shinki in his lap. "That's not your fault, it wasn't you. You were just trying to save your kid."

His other self coughed and he was worried this was the start of a coughing fit but soon realized it was actually chuckling, merely a weak one. "Me? Save Yukime?" The incredulous tone of the god contrasted the wetness of Other Yato's eyes and his trembling lips. "As if I did anything but watch."

Yato remained mute, realizing this was the calm before the storm but knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"I didn't have to let Father possess me for some calamity work," Yato reeled from the implication that this possession had been a common thing in his other self's life. Then again, it wasn't so different from what Yato let his own father use him for time and time again. "I had already promised Yukime I wouldn't let him use me again, but just like every other time I let him in." Other Yato turned away to face the regalia and Yato couldn't see his expression, but he kind of didn't want to. He was scared if he did all he would see was a reflection of himself, his true self exposed with every insecurity he tried so hard to hide hanging out for the whole world to see.

"I let myself believe it would be like last time, he'd take over, kill some people, and then let me go, but of course he didn't do that. Father had been giving hints for months that he was interested in Yukime's strength and I let him in anyway." Other Yato's voice was a growl, dripping with self-hatred that must have been building up for months -if not longer- within the god. "I let him take Yukime away from everything. From Hiyori, Kofuku, Daikoke, Kazumu...from me." His other self raised a hand and it hovered over Yukime's head, but didn't go down. Perhaps he no longer felt worthy to make contact with his kid, certain his hands could only do harm. Yato hadn't been possessed and even he felt that way sometimes for all the blood he had spilled over the centuries.

"I let him use my kid for..." Other Yato couldn't go on, his head flopped over to face Yato and he saw the horror and disgust in his expression. "Yukime couldn't even stop himself, Father broke his seal and made him remember how he-the lightning." His eyes widened as he grasped from the way his other self refrained from mentioning god's greatest secret even in front of his sleeping hafuri, that said secret was just as dangerous in his reality as it was in the other.

"How did Yukime not turn into an ayakashi?" He couldn't help but ask, for if Yukime could remember and survive, did the mean Yukine could too? Were special in some way?

Other Yato shook his head. "He went into Yukime's memories and blocked the memory right after he showed him. It's like how Yukime's name is a seal on his physical body and it blocks his memories, Father somehow put a seal in his head too." It didn't sound like a normal thing to do according to Other Yato's scrunched up expression.

"So Yukime remembered but he couldn't-" He nearly said "feel" but recalled negative emotions were the way a shinki became an ayakashi in his reality, but in Yukime's reality it was thoughts that seemed important. "Dwell on it."

"Exactly, the seal in his mind kept him from ever spending enough time thinking over the lightning to have the negative thoughts that would turn him into an ayakashi. But because the letters on his chest were identical to the ones inside his head-"

"If you released Yukime, you'd also release that memory too." Yato felt a whole new level of disturbed at the realization that Yukime had been as much of a hostage as Other Yato had been. Other Father truly was worst than his own. "But how did you figure out sending Yukime to another reality-that another version of yourself could release him without letting him remember?"

Other Yato released another cough that was supposingly a laugh. "I didn't. They did...everybody else made this plan." He didn't have to specify who they were, Yato knew he meant hid Hiyori, Kofuku, and the rest. "They're the ones who found us, and took Yukime to the one place Father couldn't go."

"Takamagahara?" He was thinking of Yukime's memory at Bishamon's place in the Heavens.

His other self nodded, a hint of a smile ghosting over his face. "Father may have been in a god's body, may have made me Yaboku, but Hiyori made the shrine for Yato." He wondered if it was strange to admire the same girl from two different realities.

"So Father let me go, he probably figured I could find Yukime and lead him to my kid, but Kofuku found me first and explained her plan to save my kid, so you see..." The god sighed and deflated into the covers until he seemed to disappear under them entirely, and something about that disappearance terrified Yato. "I didn't do a thing to help Yukime."

Yato considered denying that, wanted to tell him that was so wrong because this god had been willing to die if it meant his kid could be free, but he knew that wouldn't work. If he was in Other Yato's place, words would not ease his guilt, no, outright refutation wouldn't help. "Then fix it."

Other Yato blinked at him, face eerily blank yet he knew that was merely a mask. He only ever looked so unemotional when he was at his most emotionally vulnerable. "Okay, you messed up, you failed everyone," his heart contracted and squeezed because he hated agreeing but it was the only way. "But now you're free to make your own choices, to take action, so use this freedom to fix this. To fix him." He nodded at Yukime and the sharp pain in his other self's eyes dimmed. "Fix your kid and don't ever let Father turn you...turn you into Yaboku again.

They stared at each other. Yato looked at Yato and there was understanding and pity on both sides, but most all there was resolve. They looked away to stare at their kids and though Yato wasn't sure, he liked to believe that at this time they made the same promise.

* * *

Kofuku's vent went from pink to red and that was all the confirmation they needed to know that Other Kofuku had already created an exit point in the other reality and was awaiting their return. Other Yato and Yukime stood before the whirling vortex but were standing far away enough that they couldn't be forcibly dragged in. Kofuku was a sobbing mess and Yato silently thanked Daikoku for calming her because if it had been up to the goddess, she would still be showering their counterparts with farewell packets. Yukime was already carrying a bag full of clothes and a week's worth of food. Speaking of which...

Yato slid over to Daikoku while Kofuku sobbed into his other shoulder. "So why are you giving my counterpart all the goods but I have to fight for scraps at every meal?"

Daikoku turned to glare at him. "Because your counterpart is actually a decent guy."

Yato clutched at his heart and gaped at the shinki because that hurt, really it did. He sniffled dramatically and turned over to whine at Yukine, but cut the melodramatics when he noticed there was no one behind him. His head snapped forward and he spotted Yukine by Other Yato and Yukime. The shinki were speaking to each other.

Yukine was slightly bowed over and wouldn't meet his counterpart's eyes. He smiled as he figured out his kid was doing the right thing and apologizing for his little fit of jealousy -they grew up so fast!- and from the way Yukime waved him off, it was clear any lingering hard feelings between the two were gone. The two took a step back from each other right after, both a little pink in the face and unable to maintain eye contact.

"Kawaii!" Kofuku shouted from somewhere behind him as he approached the group. "Why can't we keep at least Yuki-Two?!" Yato didn't look back but from the perturbed expression on Yukine's face as the kid looked pass him, he had a feeling Kofuku was making a show of reaching for Yukime while Daikoku barely reigned her in.

Yato opened his mouth to wish them a safe travel, but was stunned when Yukime barreled into him and he had to wave his arms in a wild fashion to keep balance. "Thank you!" Yukime squeezed him with his sole arm and it was painful because his back was still bandaged and his body was bruised up, but he endured it because he didn't want to ruin this.

He wrapped his arms around his kid, ignoring the stares he sensed were being directed at them. "Don't worry about it," The kid looked up at him and he tilted his head to beam a smile down at the regalia. "You're my kid too, of course I was going to help you."

Yukime gave him a watery smile and quite passionately declared, "And you're my master too!" He squeezed the kid, minding the arm in a sling, and then carefully released him.

Orange met blue for the final time and there was nothing but trust and warmth transferred between them. Yato was going to miss the kid, his kid. As hard as it had been at times, he enjoyed having Yukime around much like he enjoyed Yukine's company and maybe that was why it felt like he was losing something when the kid turned to face the vent and Other Yato's hand hovered for only a second before landing on the kid's good shoulder.

Yukime barely flinched and Yato felt something clogging up in his throat because his kid was going to be alright. Yukine quietly went up to his side and he stretched a hand to draw his kid a little closer while minding Yukine's injury that was still healing. He felt Yukine quietly do the same and his kid's hand landed on his bandaged back but there was no guilt, only sadness he felt from the kid, as they both watched Other Yato and Yukime depart into the vent. Before they disappeared entirely into the whirlwind of chaos, Other Yato turned back to meet his eyes. Yato held his gaze before nodding. Then the god turned ahead and Yato knew if they very crossed paths again, the reunion would be a pleasant one.

The last thing Yato saw was the end of Yukine's scarf fluttering in the wind.

* * *

"I wonder if there's a reality where were girls."

Yukine stopped pretending to read the novel in his hands and sent Yato an incredulous look, as if he wasn't sure Yato had really said that or his mind was playing tricks on him.

To make it clear he had spoken, Yato continued. "You probably have pigtails," he looked up to stare at the wall as he thought it over. "I can't see you as a girly-girl in any reality though, no, you'd be more of the sporty sort of girl." He pictured a teenage girl skateboarding down a sidewalk, wearing sneakers and a baggy sweatshirt with her orange eyes alit with excitement. Was it weird he thought his kid would be cute either way?

"Bakagami!" A slipper smacked him in the head and he tumbled head first into his futon, but thankfully the blanket cushioned his fall. "Don't smile like that when you're picturing me as a girl, pervert!" Yukine was glaring at him like a feral kitten from his side of the room, but Yato chose to ignore the warning.

"Aw, but you'd be an adorable girl!" He ignored how Yukine's eye twitched. "Now me on the other hand, well, female-me would be hot, don't you think?" He grinned a cocky smirk, showing off all his teeth, and Yukine looked half-tempted to toss his lamp at his head but knew it wasn't worth it so settled for glowering at him.

"What type of deranged pervert are you?" Yukine rubbed his forehead to fight off an incoming headache, and who knew what had caused that.

Yato tapped his chin and thought over a response but soon his expression turned serious. "I'd answer, but I don't think I'm supposed to tell kids those kinds of things."

Yukine blinked at him, expression more than a little disturbed, and then he rolled over. "Go to bed, baka." Clearly his kid was done with him, completely and utterly done.

Yato smiled because his mission had been accomplished, he had finally convinced the kid to get some rest. He knew Yukine had been avoiding it, perhaps because the shinki knew very well there would nightmares tonight. Perhaps there would be nightmares for the next week too because Yukine had not forgotten what had happened just yesterday, and he certainly wasn't over it. Yato wasn't over it either.

His own pain didn't matter though because he sensed Yukine's guilt cropping up again and knew he had to say more. "If my father ever managed to control me like that-"

Yukine rolled over to glare at him. "I wouldn't let that happen."

Yato didn't allow his face to reveal how much it meant to him that his kid wanted to protect him so badly. "I don't think he'd give either of us much choice-"

"So if father ever got me, you'd just abandon me?" Yukine flinched after spitting out the words and Yato sensed his fear bump up because that had essentially happened already. Thus he didn't have an answer, Yukine had seen for himself that Yato would not leave him to his father or any version of his father. Yukine was _his_ kid, he would never give up on him. _Never_.

"Besides that wouldn't happen," Yukine looked down at his covers, his lips pressing together in a pout. "I'm better than Yukime, I'd find a way to free you on my own."

Yato's expression eased and he smiled at his kid. "Aw, somebody still a little jealous?"

Yukine didn't reply except to mutter an insult and turn away from Yato again. Yet Yato refused to let it end there because his kid was adorable when he got jealous and more seriously, he had to put an end to Yukine's worrying.

He got up and padded over to Yukine's side and sat down. "Don't be jealous, kid, you know you're my one and only!" The shinki stubbornly kept his eyes shut, but Yato knew he was aware of his hovering. "Well, guess you're asleep, so you wouldn't mind if I did this." He layed down on the floor beside his kid and stretched his arms out to curl them around the shinki's shoulders. Yukine jumped a little, unprepared for the sudden contact, but the kid did no more than that and Yato knew he had done the right thing.

The smile dropped off his face as he grew serious. "I don't care how many Yukines there are out there." He whispered in a soft soothing tone. "None of them can replace you because I choose _you_ , the Yukine of this reality, and you're my kid." He pulled himself a little closer and the chill of being without his blanket faded as some of Yukine's blankets fell over him.

Nothing was said for a moment, master and shinki merely enjoyed the warmth of each other's company and Yato liked to believe Other Yato and Yukime were doing the same wherever they were.

"Yato..."

"I know," He spared the regalia from the embarrassment of forcing out a thank you. "I always know." He stayed this way, ready to spend all night and morning by his kid's side. Yukine didn't say more but the way he shifted so Yato could scoot onto the futon said it all.

Other Father had been wrong to call him Yaboku. Certainly Yato had more than one side to him and admittedly he wore a mask so often he himself forgot what was real and what wasn't sometimes. Yet for his kid's sake, for Hiyori's sake, for everyone's sake, Yato was willing to be Yato. Future god of fortune who was maybe a little overly affectionate, and at times a little dense, but if that was the Yato everyone wished him to be, this was one wish he would fulfill for free.

* * *

 **I'm going to miss this story, but I'm also excited it's over because now I get to work on my next Noragami fic! :D I swear the next story has a plot that isn't as crazy as this one's, but will be filled with family drama between Yato and Yukine. If you're interested, I hope to see ya there!**

 **Goodbye for now!**

 **OMAKE**

Yato searched over the heads of all the people crowding the mall until he spotted the blond teen. He quickly elbowed his way through the swarm of people and grasped Yukine's hand to ensure his hafuri wouldn't be dragged away from him again. "Wow, I almost lost you, kid!"

Yukine blinked and peered at him over a blue scarf that was covering his face from the nose down. Weird, Yato hadn't seen him wearing that earlier.

Eh, maybe Yukine was going through a phase like he heard teens went through sometimes. Maybe it was a scarf phase. Oooh, maybe he was even imitating Yato's fluffy-fluff scarf, he knew the kid would realize he had the best fashion sense one day!

Now in a good mood, he flipped open his phone with a grin. "Let's go home!"

Yukine's eyes flew open wide and he shouted something but it was muffled by the scarf as he teleported them back to Kofuku's place. Yato sighed happily, grateful to be in the open air versus that stuffy, crowded mall.

"Um, mister?"

Yato froze, wondered if his ears were working, and then spun around to confirm Yukine was talking to him. His kid had lowered the scarf and was staring at him so meekly Yato couldn't believe his eyes.

"My name is Yukime," Yato's jaw dropped. "And I think you've just kidnapped me."

 _Five minutes later..._

"How could you mix us up?!" Yukine whacked Yato with the god's own cellphone because it had been the closest hard object he could find after Yukime had called Other Yato and had the god teleport them over. "I don't even look like him! He's older and wears a scarf! A fluffy scarf! Like you! How could you be such a-"

Yato weakly looked up as his kid verbally and physically assaulted him. He stared at Other Yato with the most pleading look he could muster while being bludgeoned with a cellphone. "Can we trade?"

He put on his most winning smile.

Other Yato observed Yukine for a long moment.

Then he pulled Yukime towards him, whipped out his cellphone, and the two were gone in a flash.

Yukime and Other Yato arrived outside Other Kofuku's place.

"That loser could have been my master."

"That brat could have been my kid."

Master and shinki shuddered in unison, suddenly grateful for each other.

 _In another reality..._

"Yukine, put down the bat, we all know what damage you did to that school-Ack!"

"Bakagami!"

 **END**


End file.
